Augmented reality content generators including 3D data in a messaging system

ABSTRACT

The subject technology selects a set of augmented reality content generators from available augmented reality content generators, the selected set of augmented reality content generators comprising at least one augmented reality content generator for applying a three-dimensional (3D) effect. The subject technology causes display of a carousel interface including selectable graphical items, each selectable graphical item corresponding to a respective augmented reality content generator. The subject technology receives a selection of a first selectable graphical item from the selectable graphical items, the first selectable graphical item including a first augmented reality content generator for applying a first 3D effect. The subject technology applies, to first image data and first depth data, the first augmented reality content generator corresponding to the selected first selectable graphical item. The subject technology generates a message including the applied first augmented reality content generator to the first image data and the first depth data.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 63/009,158, filed on Apr. 13, 2020, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

With the increased use of digital images, affordability of portablecomputing devices, availability of increased capacity of digital storagemedia, and increased bandwidth and accessibility of network connections,digital images have become a part of the daily life for an increasingnumber of people.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, themost significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to thefigure number in which that element is first introduced.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a networked environment inwhich the present disclosure may be deployed, in accordance with someexample embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a messaging clientapplication, in accordance with some example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a data structure asmaintained in a database, in accordance with some example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a message, in accordance withsome example embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for an access-limiting process, in accordance withsome example embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of the messageannotations, as described in FIG. 4, including additional informationcorresponding to a given message, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating various modules of an annotationsystem, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates example user interfaces depicting a carousel forselecting and applying a media overlay to media content (e.g., an imageor video), and presenting the applied media overlay in the messagingclient application (or the messaging system), according to someembodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates examples of AR effects illustrating particles, andmultiple frames that are rendered for display on the client device.

FIG. 10 illustrates examples of AR effects showing respective 3Dtransformations (e.g., rippling or swirling) that is rendered fordisplay on the client device.

FIG. 11 illustrates examples of AR effects showing respective 3Dtransformations (e.g., rippling or swirling) on an animated 3D objectthat is rendered for display on the client device.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method to provide a carouselinterface for selecting a particular media overlay with a 3D effect,according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method to rendering a view of amessage, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing conversionpasses for processing image and depth data which may be performed inconjunction with the method for generating a 3D message, according tosome example embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of updating a view of amessage in response to movement data, according to certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 16 is block diagram showing a software architecture within whichthe present disclosure may be implemented, in accordance with someexample embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine, in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions may be executed forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed, in accordance with some example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Users with a range of interests from various locations can capturedigital images of various subjects and make captured images available toothers via networks, such as the Internet. To enhance users' experienceswith digital images and provide various features, enabling computingdevices to perform image processing operations on various objects and/orfeatures captured in a wide range of changing conditions (e.g., changesin image scales, noises, lighting, movement, or geometric distortion)can be challenging and computationally intensive.

As discussed herein, the subject infrastructure supports the creationand sharing of interactive three dimensional (3D) media, referred toherein as messages including 3D content or AR effects, throughoutvarious components of a messaging system. The infrastructure asdescribed herein enables other forms of 3D and interactive media to beprovided across the subject system, which allows for depth-based andinteractive media to be shared across the messaging system and alongsidephoto and video messages. In example embodiments described herein,messages can enter the system from a live camera or via from storage(e.g., where messages including 3D content and/or AR effects are storedin memory or a database). The subject system supports motion sensorinput and manages the sending and storage of depth data, and loading ofexternal effects and asset data.

As described herein, a message includes an interactive 3D imageincluding at least image and depth data. In an example embodiment, amessage is rendered using the subject system to visualize the spatialdetail/geometry of what the camera sees, in addition to a traditionalimage texture. When a viewer interacts with this message by moving theclient device, the movement triggers corresponding changes in theperspective the image and geometry are rendered at to the viewer.

Embodiments of the subject technology enable improvements in thefunction of a computing device (e.g., computer, mobile device, and thelike) including, for example, providing reduction in utilization ofcomputing resources (e.g., CPU, GPU, memory). In an example, thetechnical improvements also involve utilizing server or remote computingresources to process and render AR content, while in yet anotherexample, AR content can be rendered by a given computing device and thenpropagated to other computing devices for presentation. Through thecombination and utilization of various techniques described herein, alatency of displaying AR content items (e.g., a duration of time(s) forthe AR content to be generated and subsequently rendered on therespective display of a given device can be reduced), in comparison withother existing implementations, to provide a more immersive andcompelling user experience.

As referred to herein, the phrase “augmented reality experience,”“augmented reality content item,” “augmented reality content generator”includes or refers to various image processing operations correspondingto an image modification, filter, LENSES, media overlay, transformation,and the like, as described further herein.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple instances of a client device102, each of which hosts a number of applications including a messagingclient application 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via a network 106(e.g., the Internet).

A messaging client application 104 is able to communicate and exchangedata with another messaging client application 104 and with themessaging server system 108 via the network 106. The data exchangedbetween messaging client application 104, and between a messaging clientapplication 104 and the messaging server system 108, includes functions(e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well as payload data (e.g.,text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed by either a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, the location of certain functionalityeither within the messaging client application 104 or the messagingserver system 108 is a design choice. For example, it may be technicallypreferable to initially deploy certain technology and functionalitywithin the messaging server system 108, but to later migrate thistechnology and functionality to the messaging client application 104where a client device 102 has a sufficient processing capacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Thisdata may include, message content, client device information,geolocation information, media annotation and overlays, message contentpersistence conditions, social network information, and live eventinformation, as examples. Data exchanges within the messaging system 100are invoked and controlled through functions available via userinterfaces (UIs) of the messaging client application 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anApplication Program Interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a database server118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which is stored dataassociated with messages processed by the application server 112.

The Application Program Interface (API) server 110 receives andtransmits message data (e.g., commands and message payloads) between theclient device 102 and the application server 112. Specifically, theApplication Program Interface (API) server 110 provides a set ofinterfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that can be called or queriedby the messaging client application 104 in order to invoke functionalityof the application server 112. The Application Program Interface (API)server 110 exposes various functions supported by the application server112, including account registration, login functionality, the sending ofmessages, via the application server 112, from a particular messagingclient application 104 to another messaging client application 104, thesending of media files (e.g., images or video) from a messaging clientapplication 104 to the messaging server application 114, and forpossible access by another messaging client application 104, the settingof a collection of media data (e.g., story), the retrieval of a list offriends of a user of a client device 102, the retrieval of suchcollections, the retrieval of messages and content, the adding anddeletion of friends to a social graph, the location of friends within asocial graph, and opening an application event (e.g., relating to themessaging client application 104).

The application server 112 hosts a number of applications andsubsystems, including a messaging server application 114, an imageprocessing system 116 and a social network system 122. The messagingserver application 114 implements a number of message processingtechnologies and functions, particularly related to the aggregation andother processing of content (e.g., textual and multimedia content)included in messages received from multiple instances of the messagingclient application 104. As will be described in further detail, the textand media content from multiple sources may be aggregated intocollections of content (e.g., called stories or galleries). Thesecollections are then made available, by the messaging server application114, to the messaging client application 104. Other processor and memoryintensive processing of data may also be performed server-side by themessaging server application 114, in view of the hardware requirementsfor such processing.

The application server 112 also includes an image processing system 116that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations,typically with respect to images or video received within the payload ofa message at the messaging server application 114.

The social network system 122 supports various social networkingfunctions services, and makes these functions and services available tothe messaging server application 114. To this end, the social networksystem 122 maintains and accesses an entity graph 304 (as shown in FIG.3) within the database 120. Examples of functions and services supportedby the social network system 122 include the identification of otherusers of the messaging system 100 with which a particular user hasrelationships or is ‘following’, and also the identification of otherentities and interests of a particular user.

The application server 112 is communicatively coupled to a databaseserver 118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which isstored data associated with messages processed by the messaging serverapplication 114.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to example embodiments. Specifically,the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging clientapplication 104 and the application server 112, which in turn embody anumber of some subsystems, namely an ephemeral timer system 202, acollection management system 204 and an annotation system 206.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing thetemporary access to content permitted by the messaging clientapplication 104 and the messaging server application 114. To this end,the ephemeral timer system 202 incorporates a number of timers that,based on duration and display parameters associated with a message, orcollection of messages (e.g., a story), selectively display and enableaccess to messages and associated content via the messaging clientapplication 104. Further details regarding the operation of theephemeral timer system 202 are provided below.

The collection management system 204 is responsible for managingcollections of media (e.g., collections of text, image video and audiodata). In some examples, a collection of content (e.g., messages,including images, video, text and audio) may be organized into an ‘eventgallery’ or an ‘event story.’ Such a collection may be made availablefor a specified time period, such as the duration of an event to whichthe content relates. For example, content relating to a music concertmay be made available as a ‘story’ for the duration of that musicconcert. The collection management system 204 may also be responsiblefor publishing an icon that provides notification of the existence of aparticular collection to the user interface of the messaging clientapplication 104.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curationinterface 208 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate aparticular collection of content. For example, the curation interface208 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of contentrelating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content orredundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and contentrules to automatically curate a content collection. In certainembodiments, compensation may be paid to a user for inclusion ofuser-generated content into a collection. In such cases, the curationinterface 208 operates to automatically make payments to such users forthe use of their content.

The annotation system 206 provides various functions that enable a userto annotate or otherwise modify or edit media content associated with amessage. For example, the annotation system 206 provides functionsrelated to the generation and publishing of media overlays for messagesprocessed by the messaging system 100. The annotation system 206operatively supplies a media overlay or supplementation (e.g., an imagefilter) to the messaging client application 104 based on a geolocationof the client device 102. In another example, the annotation system 206operatively supplies a media overlay to the messaging client application104 based on other information, such as social network information ofthe user of the client device 102. A media overlay may include audio andvisual content and visual effects. Examples of audio and visual contentinclude pictures, texts, logos, animations, and sound effects. Anexample of a visual effect includes color overlaying. The audio andvisual content or the visual effects can be applied to a media contentitem (e.g., a photo) at the client device 102. For example, the mediaoverlay may include text that can be overlaid on top of a photographtaken by the client device 102. In another example, the media overlayincludes an identification of a location overlay (e.g., Venice beach), aname of a live event, or a name of a merchant overlay (e.g., BeachCoffee House). In another example, the annotation system 206 uses thegeolocation of the client device 102 to identify a media overlay thatincludes the name of a merchant at the geolocation of the client device102. The media overlay may include other indicia associated with themerchant. The media overlays may be stored in the database 120 andaccessed through the database server 118.

In one example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides auser-based publication platform that enables users to select ageolocation on a map, and upload content associated with the selectedgeolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which aparticular media overlay should be offered to other users. Theannotation system 206 generates a media overlay that includes theuploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selectedgeolocation.

In another example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides amerchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select aparticular media overlay associated with a geolocation via a biddingprocess. For example, the annotation system 206 associates the mediaoverlay of a highest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocationfor a predefined amount of time.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data structures 300 which maybe stored in the database 120 of the messaging server system 108,according to certain example embodiments. While the content of thedatabase 120 is shown to comprise a number of tables, it will beappreciated that the data could be stored in other types of datastructures (e.g., as an object-oriented database).

The database 120 includes message data stored within a message table314. The entity table 302 stores entity data, including an entity graph304. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table302 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects,places, events, etc. Regardless of type, any entity regarding which themessaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognized entity. Eachentity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity typeidentifier (not shown).

The entity graph 304 furthermore stores information regardingrelationships and associations between entities. Such relationships maybe social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation ororganization) interested-based or activity-based, merely for example.

The database 120 also stores annotation data, in the example form offilters, in an annotation table 312. Filters for which data is storedwithin the annotation table 312 are associated with and applied tovideos (for which data is stored in a video table 310) and/or images(for which data is stored in an image table 308). Filters, in oneexample, are overlays that are displayed as overlaid on an image orvideo during presentation to a recipient user. Filters may be of variestypes, including user-selected filters from a gallery of filterspresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104 whenthe sending user is composing a message. Other types of filters includegeolocation filters (also known as geo-filters) which may be presentedto a sending user based on geographic location. For example, geolocationfilters specific to a neighborhood or special location may be presentedwithin a user interface by the messaging client application 104, basedon geolocation information determined by a GPS unit of the client device102. Another type of filer is a data filer, which may be selectivelypresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104,based on other inputs or information gathered by the client device 102during the message creation process. Example of data filters includecurrent temperature at a specific location, a current speed at which asending user is traveling, battery lite for a client device 102, or thecurrent time.

Other annotation data that may be stored within the image table 308 areaugmented reality content generators (e.g., corresponding to applyingLENSES, augmented reality experiences, or augmented reality contentitems). An augmented reality content generator may be a real-timespecial effect and sound that may be added to an image or a video.

As described above, augmented reality content generators, augmentedreality content items, overlays, image transformations, AR images andsimilar terms refer to modifications that may be made to videos orimages. This includes real-time modification which modifies an image asit is captured using a device sensor and then displayed on a screen ofthe device with the modifications. This also includes modifications tostored content, such as video clips in a gallery that may be modified.For example, in a device with access to multiple augmented realitycontent generators, a user can use a single video clip with multipleaugmented reality content generators to see how the different augmentedreality content generators will modify the stored clip. For example,multiple augmented reality content generators that apply differentpseudorandom movement models can be applied to the same content byselecting different augmented reality content generators for thecontent. Similarly, real-time video capture may be used with anillustrated modification to show how video images currently beingcaptured by sensors of a device would modify the captured data. Suchdata may simply be displayed on the screen and not stored in memory, orthe content captured by the device sensors may be recorded and stored inmemory with or without the modifications (or both). In some systems, apreview feature can show how different augmented reality contentgenerators will look within different windows in a display at the sametime. This can, for example, enable multiple windows with differentpseudorandom animations to be viewed on a display at the same time.

Data and various systems using augmented reality content generators orother such transform systems to modify content using this data can thusinvolve detection of objects (e.g., faces, hands, bodies, cats, dogs,surfaces, objects, etc.), tracking of such objects as they leave, enter,and move around the field of view in video frames, and the modificationor transformation of such objects as they are tracked. In variousembodiments, different methods for achieving such transformations may beused. For example, some embodiments may involve generating athree-dimensional mesh model of the object or objects, and usingtransformations and animated textures of the model within the video toachieve the transformation. In other embodiments, tracking of points onan object may be used to place an image or texture (which may be twodimensional or three dimensional) at the tracked position. In stillfurther embodiments, neural network analysis of video frames may be usedto place images, models, or textures in content (e.g., images or framesof video). Augmented reality content generators thus refer both to theimages, models, and textures used to create transformations in content,as well as to additional modeling and analysis information needed toachieve such transformations with object detection, tracking, andplacement.

Real-time video processing can be performed with any kind of video data(e.g., video streams, video files, etc.) saved in a memory of acomputerized system of any kind. For example, a user can load videofiles and save them in a memory of a device, or can generate a videostream using sensors of the device. Additionally, any objects can beprocessed using a computer animation model, such as a human's face andparts of a human body, animals, or non-living things such as chairs,cars, or other objects.

In some embodiments, when a particular modification is selected alongwith content to be transformed, elements to be transformed areidentified by the computing device, and then detected and tracked ifthey are present in the frames of the video. The elements of the objectare modified according to the request for modification, thustransforming the frames of the video stream. Transformation of frames ofa video stream can be performed by different methods for different kindsof transformation. For example, for transformations of frames mostlyreferring to changing forms of object's elements characteristic pointsfor each of element of an object are calculated (e.g., using an ActiveShape Model (ASM) or other known methods). Then, a mesh based on thecharacteristic points is generated for each of the at least one elementof the object. This mesh used in the following stage of tracking theelements of the object in the video stream. In the process of tracking,the mentioned mesh for each element is aligned with a position of eachelement. Then, additional points are generated on the mesh. A first setof first points is generated for each element based on a request formodification, and a set of second points is generated for each elementbased on the set of first points and the request for modification. Then,the frames of the video stream can be transformed by modifying theelements of the object on the basis of the sets of first and secondpoints and the mesh. In such method, a background of the modified objectcan be changed or distorted as well by tracking and modifying thebackground.

In one or more embodiments, transformations changing some areas of anobject using its elements can be performed by calculating ofcharacteristic points for each element of an object and generating amesh based on the calculated characteristic points. Points are generatedon the mesh, and then various areas based on the points are generated.The elements of the object are then tracked by aligning the area foreach element with a position for each of the at least one element, andproperties of the areas can be modified based on the request formodification, thus transforming the frames of the video stream.Depending on the specific request for modification properties of thementioned areas can be transformed in different ways. Such modificationsmay involve changing color of areas; removing at least some part ofareas from the frames of the video stream; including one or more newobjects into areas which are based on a request for modification; andmodifying or distorting the elements of an area or object. In variousembodiments, any combination of such modifications or other similarmodifications may be used. For certain models to be animated, somecharacteristic points can be selected as control points to be used indetermining the entire state-space of options for the model animation.

In some embodiments of a computer animation model to transform imagedata using face detection, the face is detected on an image with use ofa specific face detection algorithm (e.g., Viola-Jones). Then, an ActiveShape Model (ASM) algorithm is applied to the face region of an image todetect facial feature reference points.

In other embodiments, other methods and algorithms suitable for facedetection can be used. For example, in some embodiments, features arelocated using a landmark which represents a distinguishable pointpresent in most of the images under consideration. For facial landmarks,for example, the location of the left eye pupil may be used. In aninitial landmark is not identifiable (e.g., if a person has aneyepatch), secondary landmarks may be used. Such landmark identificationprocedures may be used for any such objects. In some embodiments, a setof landmarks forms a shape. Shapes can be represented as vectors usingthe coordinates of the points in the shape. One shape is aligned toanother with a similarity transform (allowing translation, scaling, androtation) that minimizes the average Euclidean distance between shapepoints. The mean shape is the mean of the aligned training shapes.

In some embodiments, a search for landmarks from the mean shape alignedto the position and size of the face determined by a global facedetector is started. Such a search then repeats the steps of suggestinga tentative shape by adjusting the locations of shape points by templatematching of the image texture around each point and then conforming thetentative shape to a global shape model until convergence occurs. Insome systems, individual template matches are unreliable and the shapemodel pools the results of the weak template matchers to form a strongeroverall classifier. The entire search is repeated at each level in animage pyramid, from coarse to fine resolution.

Embodiments of a transformation system can capture an image or videostream on a client device (e.g., the client device 102) and performcomplex image manipulations locally on the client device 102 whilemaintaining a suitable user experience, computation time, and powerconsumption. The complex image manipulations may include size and shapechanges, emotion transfers (e.g., changing a face from a frown to asmile), state transfers (e.g., aging a subject, reducing apparent age,changing gender), style transfers, graphical element application, andany other suitable image or video manipulation implemented by aconvolutional neural network that has been configured to executeefficiently on the client device 102.

In some example embodiments, a computer animation model to transformimage data can be used by a system where a user may capture an image orvideo stream of the user (e.g., a selfie) using a client device 102having a neural network operating as part of a messaging clientapplication 104 operating on the client device 102. The transform systemoperating within the messaging client application 104 determines thepresence of a face within the image or video stream and providesmodification icons associated with a computer animation model totransform image data, or the computer animation model can be present asassociated with an interface described herein. The modification iconsinclude changes which may be the basis for modifying the user's facewithin the image or video stream as part of the modification operation.Once a modification icon is selected, the transform system initiates aprocess to convert the image of the user to reflect the selectedmodification icon (e.g., generate a smiling face on the user). In someembodiments, a modified image or video stream may be presented in agraphical user interface displayed on the mobile client device as soonas the image or video stream is captured and a specified modification isselected. The transform system may implement a complex convolutionalneural network on a portion of the image or video stream to generate andapply the selected modification. That is, the user may capture the imageor video stream and be presented with a modified result in real time ornear real time once a modification icon has been selected. Further, themodification may be persistent while the video stream is being capturedand the selected modification icon remains toggled. Machine taughtneural networks may be used to enable such modifications.

In some embodiments, the graphical user interface, presenting themodification performed by the transform system, may supply the user withadditional interaction options. Such options may be based on theinterface used to initiate the content capture and selection of aparticular computer animation model (e.g., initiation from a contentcreator user interface). In various embodiments, a modification may bepersistent after an initial selection of a modification icon. The usermay toggle the modification on or off by tapping or otherwise selectingthe face being modified by the transformation system and store it forlater viewing or browse to other areas of the imaging application. Wheremultiple faces are modified by the transformation system, the user maytoggle the modification on or off globally by tapping or selecting asingle face modified and displayed within a graphical user interface. Insome embodiments, individual faces, among a group of multiple faces, maybe individually modified or such modifications may be individuallytoggled by tapping or selecting the individual face or a series ofindividual faces displayed within the graphical user interface.

In some example embodiments, a graphical processing pipelinearchitecture is provided that enables different augmented realityexperiences (e.g., AR content generators) to be applied in correspondingdifferent layers. Such a graphical processing pipeline provides anextensible rendering engine for providing multiple augmented realityexperiences that are included in a composite media (e.g., image orvideo) for rendering by the messaging client application 104 (or themessaging system 100).

As mentioned above, the video table 310 stores video data which, in oneembodiment, is associated with messages for which records are maintainedwithin the message table 314. Similarly, the image table 308 storesimage data associated with messages for which message data is stored inthe entity table 302. The entity table 302 may associate variousannotations from the annotation table 312 with various images and videosstored in the image table 308 and the video table 310.

A story table 306 stores data regarding collections of messages andassociated image, video, or audio data, which are compiled into acollection (e.g., a story or a gallery). The creation of a particularcollection may be initiated by a particular user (e.g., each user forwhich a record is maintained in the entity table 302). A user may createa ‘personal story’ in the form of a collection of content that has beencreated and sent/broadcast by that user. To this end, the user interfaceof the messaging client application 104 may include an icon that isuser-selectable to enable a sending user to add specific content to hisor her personal story.

A collection may also constitute a ‘live story,’ which is a collectionof content from multiple users that is created manually, automatically,or using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example,a ‘live story’ may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted contentfrom varies locations and events. Users whose client devices havelocation services enabled and are at a common location event at aparticular time may, for example, be presented with an option, via auser interface of the messaging client application 104, to contributecontent to a particular live story. The live story may be identified tothe user by the messaging client application 104, based on his or herlocation. The end result is a ‘live story’ told from a communityperspective.

A further type of content collection is known as a ‘location story’,which enables a user whose client device 102 is located within aspecific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus)to contribute to a particular collection. In some embodiments, acontribution to a location story may require a second degree ofauthentication to verify that the end user belongs to a specificorganization or other entity (e.g., is a student on the universitycampus).

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message 400,according to some embodiments, generated by a messaging clientapplication 104 for communication to a further messaging clientapplication 104 or the messaging server application 114. The content ofa particular message 400 is used to populate the message table 314stored within the database 120, accessible by the messaging serverapplication 114. Similarly, the content of a message 400 is stored inmemory as ‘in-transit’ or ‘in-flight’ data of the client device 102 orthe application server 112. The message 400 is shown to include thefollowing components:

-   -   A message identifier 402: a unique identifier that identifies        the message 400.    -   A message text payload 404: text, to be generated by a user via        a user interface of the client device 102 and that is included        in the message 400.    -   A message image payload 406: image data, captured by a camera        component of a client device 102 or retrieved from a memory        component of a client device 102, and that is included in the        message 400.    -   A message video payload 408: video data, captured by a camera        component or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102 and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message audio payload 410: audio data, captured by a        microphone or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102, and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message annotations 412: annotation data (e.g., filters,        stickers or other enhancements) that represents annotations to        be applied to message image payload 406, message video payload        408, or message audio payload 410 of the message 400.    -   A message duration parameter 414: parameter value indicating, in        seconds, the amount of time for which content of the message        (e.g., the message image payload 406, message video payload 408,        message audio payload 410) is to be presented or made accessible        to a user via the messaging client application 104.    -   A message geolocation parameter 416: geolocation data (e.g.,        latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates) associated with the        content payload of the message. Multiple message geolocation        parameter 416 values may be included in the payload, each of        these parameter values being associated with respect to content        items included in the content (e.g., a specific image into        within the message image payload 406, or a specific video in the        message video payload 408).    -   A message story identifier 418: identifier values identifying        one or more content collections (e.g., ‘stories’) with which a        particular content item in the message image payload 406 of the        message 400 is associated. For example, multiple images within        the message image payload 406 may each be associated with        multiple content collections using identifier values.    -   A message tag 420: each message 400 may be tagged with multiple        tags, each of which is indicative of the subject matter of        content included in the message payload. For example, where a        particular image included in the message image payload 406        depicts an animal (e.g., a lion), a tag value may be included        within the message tag 420 that is indicative of the relevant        animal. Tag values may be generated manually, based on user        input, or may be automatically generated using, for example,        image recognition.    -   A message sender identifier 422: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of a user of the client device 102 on        which the message 400 was generated and from which the message        400 was sent    -   A message receiver identifier 424: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of a user of the client device 102 to        which the message 400 is addressed.

The contents (e.g., values) of the various components of message 400 maybe pointers to locations in tables within which content data values arestored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 406 maybe a pointer to (or address of) a location within an image table 308.Similarly, values within the message video payload 408 may point to datastored within a video table 310, values stored within the messageannotations 412 may point to data stored in an annotation table 312,values stored within the message story identifier 418 may point to datastored in a story table 306, and values stored within the message senderidentifier 422 and the message receiver identifier 424 may point to userrecords stored within an entity table 302.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an access-limiting process500, in terms of which access to content (e.g., an ephemeral message502, and associated multimedia payload of data) or a content collection(e.g., an ephemeral message group 504) may be time-limited (e.g., madeephemeral).

An ephemeral message 502 is shown to be associated with a messageduration parameter 506, the value of which determines an amount of timethat the ephemeral message 502 will be displayed to a receiving user ofthe ephemeral message 502 by the messaging client application 104. Inone embodiment, an ephemeral message 502 is viewable by a receiving userfor up to a maximum of 10 seconds, depending on the amount of time thatthe sending user specifies using the message duration parameter 506.

The message duration parameter 506 and the message receiver identifier424 are shown to be inputs to a message timer 512, which is responsiblefor determining the amount of time that the ephemeral message 502 isshown to a particular receiving user identified by the message receiveridentifier 424. In particular, the ephemeral message 502 will only beshown to the relevant receiving user for a time period determined by thevalue of the message duration parameter 506. The message timer 512 isshown to provide output to a more generalized ephemeral timer system202, which is responsible for the overall timing of display of content(e.g., an ephemeral message 502) to a receiving user.

The ephemeral message 502 is shown in FIG. 5 to be included within anephemeral message group 504 (e.g., a collection of messages in apersonal story, or an event story). The ephemeral message group 504 hasan associated group duration parameter 508, a value of which determinesa time-duration for which the ephemeral message group 504 is presentedand accessible to users of the messaging system 100. The group durationparameter 508, for example, may be the duration of a music concert,where the ephemeral message group 504 is a collection of contentpertaining to that concert. Alternatively, a user (either the owninguser or a curator user) may specify the value for the group durationparameter 508 when performing the setup and creation of the ephemeralmessage group 504.

Additionally, each ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral messagegroup 504 has an associated group participation parameter 510, a valueof which determines the duration of time for which the ephemeral message502 will be accessible within the context of the ephemeral message group504. Accordingly, a particular ephemeral message group 504 may ‘expire’and become inaccessible within the context of the ephemeral messagegroup 504, prior to the ephemeral message group 504 itself expiring interms of the group duration parameter 508. The group duration parameter508, group participation parameter 510, and message receiver identifier424 each provide input, to a group timer 514, which operationallydetermines, firstly, whether a particular ephemeral message 502 of theephemeral message group 504 will be displayed to a particular receivinguser and, if so, for how long. Note that the ephemeral message group 504is also aware of the identity of the particular receiving user as aresult of the message receiver identifier 424.

Accordingly, the group timer 514 operationally controls the overalllifespan of an associated ephemeral message group 504, as well as anindividual ephemeral message 502 included in the ephemeral message group504. In one embodiment, each and every ephemeral message 502 within theephemeral message group 504 remains viewable and accessible for atime-period specified by the group duration parameter 508. In a furtherembodiment, a certain ephemeral message 502 may expire, within thecontext of ephemeral message group 504, based on a group participationparameter 510. Note that a message duration parameter 506 may stilldetermine the duration of time for which a particular ephemeral message502 is displayed to a receiving user, even within the context of theephemeral message group 504. Accordingly, the message duration parameter506 determines the duration of time that a particular ephemeral message502 is displayed to a receiving user, regardless of whether thereceiving user is viewing that ephemeral message 502 inside or outsidethe context of an ephemeral message group 504.

The ephemeral timer system 202 may furthermore operationally remove aparticular ephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message group 504based on a determination that it has exceeded an associated groupparticipation parameter 510. For example, when a sending user hasestablished a group participation parameter 510 of 24 hours fromposting, the ephemeral timer system 202 will remove the relevantephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message group 504 after thespecified 24 hours. The ephemeral timer system 202 also operates toremove an ephemeral message group 504 either when the groupparticipation parameter 510 for each and every ephemeral message 502within the ephemeral message group 504 has expired, or when theephemeral message group 504 itself has expired in terms of the groupduration parameter 508.

In certain use cases, a creator of a particular ephemeral message group504 may specify an indefinite group duration parameter 508. In thiscase, the expiration of the group participation parameter 510 for thelast remaining ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral message group504 will determine when the ephemeral message group 504 itself expires.In this case, a new ephemeral message 502, added to the ephemeralmessage group 504, with a new group participation parameter 510,effectively extends the life of an ephemeral message group 504 to equalthe value of the group participation parameter 510.

Responsive to the ephemeral timer system 202 determining that anephemeral message group 504 has expired (e.g., is no longer accessible),the ephemeral timer system 202 communicates with the messaging system100 (and, for example, specifically the messaging client application104) to cause an indicium (e.g., an icon) associated with the relevantephemeral message group 504 to no longer be displayed within a userinterface of the messaging client application 104. Similarly, when theephemeral timer system 202 determines that the message durationparameter 506 for a particular ephemeral message 502 has expired, theephemeral timer system 202 causes the messaging client application 104to no longer display an indicium (e.g., an icon or textualidentification) associated with the ephemeral message 502.

As described above, media overlays, such as LENSES, overlays, imagetransformations, AR images and similar terms refer to modifications thatmay be made to videos or images. This includes real-time modificationwhich modifies an image as it is captured using a device sensor and thendisplayed on a screen of the device with the modifications. This alsoincludes modifications to stored content, such as video clips in agallery that may be modified. For example, in a device with access tomultiple media overlays (e.g., LENSES), a user can use a single videoclip with multiple LENSES to see how the different LENSES will modifythe stored clip. For example, multiple LENSES that apply differentpseudorandom movement models can be applied to the same content byselecting different LENSES for the content. Similarly, real-time videocapture may be used with an illustrated modification to show how videoimages currently being captured by sensors of a device would modify thecaptured data. Such data may simply be displayed on the screen and notstored in memory, or the content captured by the device sensors may berecorded and stored in memory with or without the modifications (orboth). In some systems, a preview feature can show how different LENSESwill look within different windows in a display at the same time. Thiscan, for example, enable multiple windows with different pseudorandomanimations to be viewed on a display at the same time.

Data and various systems to use LENSES or other such transform systemsto modify content using this data can thus involve detection of objects(e.g. faces, hands, bodies, cats, dogs, surfaces, objects, etc.),tracking of such objects as they leave, enter, and move around the fieldof view in video frames, and the modification or transformation of suchobjects as they are tracked. In various embodiments, different methodsfor achieving such transformations may be used. For example, someembodiments may involve generating a three-dimensional mesh model of theobject or objects, and using transformations and animated textures ofthe model within the video to achieve the transformation. In otherembodiments, tracking of points on an object may be used to place animage or texture (which may be two dimensional or three dimensional) atthe tracked position. In still further embodiments, neural networkanalysis of video frames may be used to place images, models, ortextures in content (e.g. images or frames of video). Lens data thusrefers both to the images, models, and textures used to createtransformations in content, as well as to additional modeling andanalysis information needed to achieve such transformations with objectdetection, tracking, and placement.

Real time video processing can be performed with any kind of video data,(e.g. video streams, video files, etc.) saved in a memory of acomputerized system of any kind. For example, a user can load videofiles and save them in a memory of a device, or can generate a videostream using sensors of the device. Additionally, any objects can beprocessed using a computer animation model, such as a human's face andparts of a human body, animals, or non-living things such as chairs,cars, or other objects.

In some embodiments, when a particular modification is selected alongwith content to be transformed, elements to be transformed areidentified by the computing device, and then detected and tracked ifthey are present in the frames of the video. The elements of the objectare modified according to the request for modification, thustransforming the frames of the video stream. Transformation of frames ofa video stream can be performed by different methods for different kindsof transformation. For example, for transformations of frames mostlyreferring to changing forms of object's elements characteristic pointsfor each of element of an object are calculated (e.g. using an ActiveShape Model (ASM) or other known methods). Then, a mesh based on thecharacteristic points is generated for each of the at least one elementof the object. This mesh used in the following stage of tracking theelements of the object in the video stream. In the process of tracking,the mentioned mesh for each element is aligned with a position of eachelement. Then, additional points are generated on the mesh. A first setof first points is generated for each element based on a request formodification, and a set of second points is generated for each elementbased on the set of first points and the request for modification. Then,the frames of the video stream can be transformed by modifying theelements of the object on the basis of the sets of first and secondpoints and the mesh. In such method a background of the modified objectcan be changed or distorted as well by tracking and modifying thebackground.

In one or more embodiments, transformations changing some areas of anobject using its elements can be performed by calculating ofcharacteristic points for each element of an object and generating amesh based on the calculated characteristic points. Points are generatedon the mesh, and then various areas based on the points are generated.The elements of the object are then tracked by aligning the area foreach element with a position for each of the at least one element, andproperties of the areas can be modified based on the request formodification, thus transforming the frames of the video stream.Depending on the specific request for modification properties of thementioned areas can be transformed in different ways. Such modificationsmay involve: changing color of areas; removing at least some part ofareas from the frames of the video stream; including one or more newobjects into areas which are based on a request for modification; andmodifying or distorting the elements of an area or object. In variousembodiments, any combination of such modifications or other similarmodifications may be used. For certain models to be animated, somecharacteristic points can be selected as control points to be used indetermining the entire state-space of options for the model animation.

In some embodiments of a computer animation model to transform imagedata using face detection, the face is detected on an image with use ofa specific face detection algorithm (e.g. Viola-Jones). Then, an ActiveShape Model (ASM) algorithm is applied to the face region of an image todetect facial feature reference points.

In other embodiments, other methods and algorithms suitable for facedetection can be used. For example, in some embodiments, features arelocated using a landmark which represents a distinguishable pointpresent in most of the images under consideration. For facial landmarks,for example, the location of the left eye pupil may be used. In aninitial landmark is not identifiable (e.g. if a person has an eyepatch),secondary landmarks may be used. Such landmark identification proceduresmay be used for any such objects. In some embodiments, a set oflandmarks forms a shape. Shapes can be represented as vectors using thecoordinates of the points in the shape. One shape is aligned to anotherwith a similarity transform (allowing translation, scaling, androtation) that minimizes the average Euclidean distance between shapepoints. The mean shape is the mean of the aligned training shapes.

In some embodiments, a search for landmarks from the mean shape alignedto the position and size of the face determined by a global facedetector is started. Such a search then repeats the steps of suggestinga tentative shape by adjusting the locations of shape points by templatematching of the image texture around each point and then conforming thetentative shape to a global shape model until convergence occurs. Insome systems, individual template matches are unreliable and the shapemodel pools the results of the weak template matchers to form a strongeroverall classifier. The entire search is repeated at each level in animage pyramid, from coarse to fine resolution.

Embodiments of a transformation system can capture an image or videostream on a client device and perform complex image manipulationslocally on a client device such as client device 102 while maintaining asuitable user experience, computation time, and power consumption. Thecomplex image manipulations may include size and shape changes, emotiontransfers (e.g., changing a face from a frown to a smile), statetransfers (e.g, aging a subject, reducing apparent age, changinggender), style transfers, graphical element application, and any othersuitable image or video manipulation implemented by a convolutionalneural network that has been configured to execute efficiently on aclient device.

In some example embodiments, a computer animation model to transformimage data can be used by a system where a user may capture an image orvideo stream of the user (e.g., a selfie) using a client device 102having a neural network operating as part of a messaging clientapplication 104 operating on the client device 102. The transform systemoperating within the messaging client application 104 determines thepresence of a face within the image or video stream and providesmodification icons associated with a computer animation model totransform image data, or the computer animation model can be present asassociated with an interface described herein. The modification iconsinclude changes which may be the basis for modifying the user's facewithin the image or video stream as part of the modification operation.Once a modification icon is selected, the transform system initiates aprocess to convert the image of the user to reflect the selectedmodification icon (e.g., generate a smiling face on the user). In someembodiments, a modified image or video stream may be presented in agraphical user interface displayed on the mobile client device as soonas the image or video stream is captured and a specified modification isselected. The transform system may implement a complex convolutionalneural network on a portion of the image or video stream to generate andapply the selected modification. That is, the user may capture the imageor video stream and be presented with a modified result in real time ornear real time once a modification icon has been selected. Further, themodification may be persistent while the video stream is being capturedand the selected modification icon remains toggled. Machine taughtneural networks may be used to enable such modifications.

In some embodiments, the graphical user interface, presenting themodification performed by the transform system, may supply the user withadditional interaction options. Such options may be based on theinterface used to initiate the content capture and selection of aparticular computer animation model (e.g. initiation from a contentcreator user interface). In various embodiments, a modification may bepersistent after an initial selection of a modification icon. The usermay toggle the modification on or off by tapping or otherwise selectingthe face being modified by the transformation system. and store it forlater viewing or browse to other areas of the imaging application. Wheremultiple faces are modified by the transformation system, the user maytoggle the modification on or off globally by tapping or selecting asingle face modified and displayed within a graphical user interface. Insome embodiments, individual faces, among a group of multiple faces, maybe individually modified or such modifications may be individuallytoggled by tapping or selecting the individual face or a series ofindividual faces displayed within the graphical user interface.

In some example embodiments, a graphical processing pipelinearchitecture is provided that enables different media overlays to beapplied in corresponding different layers. Such a graphical processingpipeline provides an extensible rendering engine for providing multipleaugmented reality content generators that are included in a compositemedia (e.g., image or video) for rendering by the messaging clientapplication 104 (or the messaging system 100).

As discussed herein, the subject infrastructure supports the creationand sharing of interactive messages with interactive effects throughoutvarious components of the messaging system 100. In an example, toprovide such interactive effects, a given interactive message mayinclude image data along with 2D data, or 3D data. Thus, as discussedherein, an interactive message with 2D data (e.g., no depth data) may besimply referred to as an “interactive message” while a message with 3Ddata (e.g., depth data) may be referred to herein as a “3D message” or“interactive message with 3D data”. The infrastructure as describedherein enables other forms of 3D and interactive media (e.g., 2D mediacontent that may not use depth data) to be provided across the subjectsystem, which allows for such interactive media to be shared across themessaging system 100 and alongside photo and video messages. In exampleembodiments described herein, messages can enter the system from a livecamera or via from storage (e.g., where messages with 2D or 3D contentor augmented reality (AR) effects (e.g., 3D effects using depth data, orother interactive effects that may not use depth data) are stored inmemory or a database). In an example of an interactive message with 3Ddata, the subject system supports motion sensor input and manages thesending and storage of depth data, and loading of external effects andasset data.

As mentioned above, an interactive message includes an image incombination with a 2D effect, and an interactive message with 3D dataincludes an image in combination with a 3D effect and depth data. In anexample embodiment, a message is rendered using the subject system tovisualize the spatial detail/geometry of what the camera sees, inaddition to a traditional image texture. When a viewer interacts withthis message by moving a client device, the movement triggerscorresponding changes in the perspective the image and geometry arerendered at to the viewer.

In an embodiment, the subject system provides AR effects (which mayinclude 3D effects using depth data, or interactive 2D effects that donot use depth data) that work in conjunction with other components ofthe system to provide particles, shaders, 2D assets and 3D geometry thatcan inhabit different depth-planes within messages. In an example, thisenables the subject system to provide augmented reality contentgenerators and effects that have occlusion and respond to theinteractions of the user (e.g., as detected through motion sensor data)by changing the physical placement and visual appearance of the assetsin such messages. The AR effects as described herein, in an example, arerendered in a real-time manner for the user, which also enablesdifferent particles and layers to be placed in different positions foreach user who views such particles and layers.

As discussed herein, a 2D attachment or 3D attachment refers to images(e.g., sprites) or geometry that can be attached to a 3D effect in asimilar manner to being attached to a lens.

As described herein, face effects refer to beautification, face retouch,stretching and other effects that can be applied to an image containinga face in order to deform or beautify the face through a lens and/orother augmented reality content generator (e.g., providing an augmentedreality experience).

One example of such a beautification operation includes face retouchingwhich includes a number of features to retouch the user's face such assoftening skin, teeth whitening, eye sharpening and eye whitening.Another example of a beautification operation includes a face stretcheffect that enables stretching points of the user's face. Yet anotherexample of a beautification operation includes changing the color of theuser's eyes and/or creating eye reflections. Another example of abeautification operation includes a face liquify effect that sphericallywarps the face. Another example of a beautification operation includes aface inset effect that maps a feature of the face (e.g., eyes) to otherareas of the face. It is appreciated that other types of beautificationtechniques are contemplated and within the scope of the subject system.

The beautification operation can modify the image data to increase skinsmoothness, adjust lighting, and modify color in the facial image data.Example approaches to achieve the aforementioned image effects includeusing portrait division, portrait fusion, color correction, Gaussianmixture model (GNIM), Gaussian filter, Bayesian segmentation, skin colordetection, bilateral filter, HSV color descriptor, wavelet transform,gradient domain image processing, Poisson image cloning, Lee filter,edge-preserving smoothing filter, blurring, noise reduction, blemishremoval, feature detection and extraction, and the like. Otherapproaches may be utilized by the subject technology to perform a givenbeautification operation. For instance, machine learning models can beapplied in a beautification operation such as convolutional neuralnetworks, generative adversarial networks, and the like. Such machinelearning models can be utilized to preserve facial feature structures,smooth blemishes or remove wrinkles, or preserve facial skin texture infacial image data.

As mentioned herein, a gyro-based interaction refers to a type ofinteraction in which a given client device's rotation is used as aninput to change an aspect of the effect (e.g. rotating phone alongx-axis in order to change the color of a light in the scene).

As mentioned herein, a 3D augmented reality content generator refers toa real-time special effect and/or sound that may be added to a messageand modifies image and/or depth data with a AR effects and/other 3Dcontent such as 3D animated graphical elements, and the like.

In an embodiment, when a user initiates a capture of a message with 3Dcontent (e.g., a 3D message), the subject system applies a bundled ordynamic depth effect lens using mesh generated based on depthinformation and a camera image.

In an embodiment, there are two example scenarios for recreating aninteractive message (e.g., with 2D data or 3D data) for viewing:

Sending: when sending an interactive message (e.g., with 2D data or 3Ddata), the sender produces a number of assets which accompany themessage with the image data. These assets are not the same as the rawinputs, but rather are assets which have been generated by the sender ARcontent generator in order to capture the results of the AR contentprocessing.

Storing the interactive message: when storing the interactive message,the subject system enables a user to re-create the AR effect(s) from“scratch” and switch to different AR effects. To achieve this, thesubject system stores the raw inputs, which enables the system to startfrom “scratch” again.

The following discussion relates to example data that is stored inconnection with such a message in accordance to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of the messageannotations 412, as described above in FIG. 4, including additionalinformation corresponding to a given message, according to someembodiments, generated by the messaging client application 104. In anembodiment, the content of a particular message 400 including theadditional data shown in FIG. 6 is used to populate the message table314 stored within the database 120 for a given message, which is thenaccessible by the messaging server application 114 and/or the messagingclient application 104. As illustrated in an example embodiment, messageannotations 412 includes the following components corresponding to datafor a message:

-   -   augmented reality content generator identifier 652: identifier        of an augmented reality content generator (e.g., animation        and/or effect, including a 3D effect, LENSES, filter, and the        like) utilized in the message    -   message identifier 654: identifier of the message    -   asset identifiers 656: a set of identifiers for assets in the        message. For example, respective asset identifiers can be        included for a number of assets that is determined by the        particular 3D augmented reality content generator. In an        embodiment, such assets are created by the 3D augmented reality        content generator on the sender side, uploaded to the messaging        server application 114, and utilized by the 3D augmented reality        content generator on the receiver side in order to recreate the        message. Examples of typical assets include:    -   raw input data 657:        -   The original still RGB image captured by the camera        -   A combined depth map and portrait segmentation mask, which            provides a 3D capture of the user separated from their            background. In an embodiment and described further herein,            this is generated by render passes in the 3D augmented            reality content generator from the raw depth data and            portrait segmentation mask provided by the device camera,            which can be packed into a multichannel image (e.g., RGB            channels with alpha channel) for transmission        -   A blurred background image to place behind the 3D user            capture. In an embodiment, this is generated by render            passes in the lens making use of the portrait segmentation            mask to perform inpainting of image content behind the user        -   3D depth data (mentioned further below)        -   portrait segmentation mask (mentioned further below)    -   depth data 658: raw depth data (e.g., 640×360 with 16 bit)        and/or a depth map    -   mask data 660: data corresponding to a portrait segmentation        mask based on the raw depth data and/or depth map    -   metadata 662 corresponding to additional metadata including, but        not limited to, the following:        -   a message metadata appended to camera image metadata            -   camera intrinsic data                -   focal length                -   principal point            -   camera extrinsic data                -   quaternion indicating rotation between two cameras                -   translation between two cameras            -   other camera information (e.g., camera position)        -   media attribute to indicate message has depth        -   augmented reality content generator asset metadata            corresponding to an augmented reality content generator        -   other additional metadata associated with the augmented            reality content generator corresponding to the augmented            reality content generator identifier 652, such as:            -   augmented reality content generator category:                corresponding to a type or classification for a                particular augmented reality content generator            -   augmented reality content generator carousel index (or                other interface as discussed further below)        -   sensor information: any information provided by a sensor of            the client device 102, including but not limited to the            following examples:            -   gyroscopic sensor data            -   position sensor data            -   accelerometer sensor data            -   other sensor data            -   location sensor data

Although not shown in FIG. 6, in an example embodiment, a given messagealso includes the following data (e.g., as described before inconnection with FIG. 4): 1) a placeholder 2D image (e.g., a 2D photowith information corresponding to AR effects), and 2) a standard 2Doverlay applied to the message (e.g., filters based on geolocation,stickers, captions, etc.). A message therefore includes, in anembodiment, a placeholder image which includes metadata corresponding toconfiguration data for a lens (e.g., camera intrinsic data, attachedobject positions) and references to stored assets in connection with themessage.

In an example, the user is able to select from a number of augmentedreality content generators which results in different visual treatmentsof the raw data provided by the camera. In an example, after anaugmented reality content generator (which involves 3D data) has beenselected in the messaging client application 104, the camera capturesraw depth data, and the camera image. In an example, this raw data isprovided to components for rendering a view of the message including thedepth data. Additionally, this raw data, in an embodiment, is utilizedby the message client application 104 (or component thereof) to generatea portrait segmentation mask. However, in instances in which a givenaugmented reality content generator does not utilize 3D effects or 3Ddata and is interactive, the camera can capture an image or multipleimages to render a view of the message (e.g., without the aforementioneddepth data).

In an example, depending on the relative position of the client devicewith respect to a viewing user, 3D effects can be updated forpresentation on the display of the client device taking into account thechange in position. For example, if the display of the client device istilted in a particular manner to a first position, one set of 3D effectsmay be rendered and provided for display, and when the client device ismoved to a different position, a second set of 3D effects may berendered to update the image and indicate a change in viewingperspective, which provides a more 3D viewing experience to the viewinguser.

The following examples are performed by a given client device as part ofgenerating a given 3D message using at least raw input data (e.g., imagedata and depth data) provided by a camera of the client device.

In a first example, a raw depth map is generated by a given clientdevice (e.g., the client device 102) based on raw data captured by thecamera of the client device. Such raw data may include image data (e.g.,photo image) and depth data from the camera. In an example, the clientdevice converts a single channel floating point texture into a raw depthmap that enables multiple passes of processing without losing precision.The client device can spread (e.g., send or transform portions of data)the single channel floating point, texture into multiple lower precisionchannels which is illustrated in a second example as a packed depth map.In an embodiment, the raw depth map and the packed depth map have alower resolution (e.g., lower number of total pixels) than the raw imagedata captured by the camera of the client device.

The client device performs operations to separate a foreground with agiven subject (e.g., portrait of a user) in a given image from abackground in the same image. In an embodiment, the client devicegenerates a segmentation mask using at least the raw depth map or thepacked depth map described above. Alternatively, in an example, asegmentation mask may be included in the raw data captured by the camerawhen the capabilities of the client device include generating thesegmentation mask as part of the image capturing process.

Using the segmentation mask, the client device performs a diffusionbased inpainting technique to remove the foreground subject from thebackground in the image, thereby generating a background inpaintingimage (e.g., without the foreground subject). In an example, a diffusionbased inpainting technique attempts to in a missing region (e.g., theforeground subject) by propagating image content from the boundary to aninterior of the missing region. Removing the foreground subject in thismanner is advantageous at least because, after rendering the 3D message,when the camera of the client device is moved, it is possible that a“ghost” of the (portion of) image of the subject is seen in thebackground (e.g., resulting in an undesirable visual effect) when theforeground subject is not removed (e.g., when not performing the aboveoperations).

Further, after rendering the 3D message, when the client device is movedand in areas of the image with (large) changes in depth (e.g., betweenthe foreground and background corresponding to a portion of a side of auser's face), if the segmentation mask and inpainting techniques are notperformed as described herein, stretching artifacts can appear in theportion of the image with a user's face, and a boundary of the user'sface or head can appear smeared between the foreground and background ofthe image. Moreover, without performing techniques described herein, ahard (e.g., visually pronounced) boundary between the foreground and thebackground of the image can appear as an unwanted visual effect when theclient device is moved, making the image appear more artificial,unrealistic, distorted, and exaggerated.

In an embodiment, the client device performs, using a depth inpaintingmask, the same diffusion based inpainting technique (e.g., as discussedabove with respect to background inpainting) to extend the foregroundboundaries of the depth map (e.g., the packed depth map). In a firstexample, a depth inpainting mask is generated using at least the depthmap. In an example, the depth inpainting mask can be determined usingapproaches applied on the depth map including boundary detection, andmachine learning techniques such as deep convolutional neural networksthat perform classifications of each pixel in the depth map,encoder-decoder architecture for segmentation, fully convolutionalnetworks, feature maps, deconvolutional networks, unsupervised featurelearning, and the like.

In a second example, image data (e.g., an inpainted depth map) includesa result of inpainting of the depth map using the depth inpainting mask.This is performed, in an example, to improve the appearance (e.g., moreaccurately render) of hair, ears, or shoulders. As mentioned before, thedepth map can be lower resolution than the image data (e.g., the RBGimage) and 3D effects or image processing operations applied to thedepth map may be limited by the lower resolution. To better preservefine details such as hair, the aforementioned depth map inpaintingtechnique is provided by the subject technology. By using the depth mapand the depth inpainting mask, the client device can determine and fillparticular regions of the image (e.g., regions with missing or baddata).

In an example, the client device determines a depth map based at leastin part on the depth data, generates a depth inpainting maskcorresponding to a region of the depth map including facial depth data;and performs depth map inpainting of the depth map using at least thegenerated depth inpainting mask. The depth map could be a packed depthmap in an embodiment.

In an embodiment, the client device generates a depth normal map bydetermining a plane fitting around a neighborhood of each depth pixel inthe depth map. This is advantageous for determining how light shouldinteract with the surface e.g., to achieve interesting lighting effectsand beautification effects. In an example, the generated depth normalmap is a low resolution image but can be effectively utilized to providesuch effects in the 3D message. In an example, a normal map uses RGBinformation (e.g., corresponding with the X, Y and Z axis in 3D space),and the RGB information can be utilized by the client device todetermine the direction that surface normals (or “normals”) are orientedin for each polygon, where the client device uses the determinedorientation of the surface normals to determine how to shade thepolygon. Stated in another way, a normal map is an image that stores adirection at each pixel, and the directions are called normals. The red,green, and blue channels of the image can be used by the client deviceto control the direction of a normal of each pixel, and the normal mapcan be used to mimic high-resolution details on a low-resolution image.

In an example, the client device generates a normal map of the depth mapfor applying a lighting effect to facial image data of the image data,and applies the lighting effect to the facial image data based at leastin part on the normal map. In an example, the lighting effect includesat least two different colors, a first color from the two differentcolors being applied to a first portion of the facial image data, and asecond color from the two different colors being applied to a secondimage of the facial image data.

Using the generated normal map, the client device can applybeautification techniques (discussed further herein), lighting effects,and other image processing techniques to produce 3D effects that areconvincing and natural looking to a viewing user of the 3D message. Theclient device generates a post-processed foreground image based at leaston the aforementioned techniques involving the generated normal map.

The client device generates a 3D message that includes various assetssuch as the post-processed foreground image, the post-processed depthmap, the inpainted background image, and other metadata included (e.g.,as discussed before). In an embodiment, a receiving device of the 3Dmessage can utilize the included assets to render a view of the 3Dmessage by generating a foreground mesh and a background mesh. Theforeground mesh can be generated using the post-processed depth map andmetadata related to camera intrinsic metadata (e.g., lens information,and the like as discussed before). The background mesh can be generatedusing at least the inpainted background image.

In an embodiment, an augmented reality content generator includes logicfor generating assets, which are uploaded to the messaging serverapplication 114, and other data (anything else which the receiver (e.g.,a different client device from the client device 102, or the clientdevice 102 when receiving from the different client device) needs inorder to rebuild the effect e.g. field of view information,configuration parameters, etc.), which is attached to the message.

In an example, a sender (e.g., client device 102) generates a standard2D image message to which augmented reality content generator metadatais included that contains information utilized by the receiver toreconstruct the 3D message. This includes the ID of the 3D messageaugmented reality content generator (e.g., the receiver also downloadsand executes the same augmented reality content generator that was usedby the sender), a 3D message ID (e.g., to associate all assets with thisparticular 3D message), and the assets IDs and configuration dataproduced by the 3D augmented reality content generator itself, includingarbitrary structured data embedded directly in the metadata (e.g.,numbers, text, vectors and matrices) and any number of asset IDsreferencing larger assets stored in the messaging server application 114(e.g., images, videos, 3D meshes).

In an embodiment, facial data processing occurs only on the sender side.The results of this processing are then stored as configuration data bythe 3D message augmented reality content generator (for example, the 3Dtransform of the head as a transformation matrix), and on the receiverside this configuration data is retrieved and used (e.g., the receiverdoes not re-process facial data from the original image).

As an example, the receiver receives a standard 2D image message, butbecause of the presence and content of the augmented reality contentgenerator metadata, the receiver reconstructs a 3D message based on suchmetadata. This involves first fetching the 3D message augmented realitycontent generator using its ID, and then fetching all assets associatedwith the 3D message ID. The receiver loads the 3D message augmentedreality content generator, and the augmented reality content generatoritself contains the logic for requesting the appropriate assets and dataand reassembling the 3D message. In an example, the 3D message assetswill not include information for performing additional processing withrespect to a given media overlay, so for example if a sticker (e.g.,overlaid image) has been applied on top of the 3D message, the receiverwill receive the underlying unobscured 3D message assets, and thesticker will be applied by the receiver as a media overlay.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram 700 illustrating various modules of anannotation system 206, according to certain example embodiments. Theannotation system 206 is shown as including an image and depth datareceiving module 702, a sensor data receiving module 704, an image anddepth data processing module 706, an augmented reality (AR) effectsmodule 708, a rendering module 710, and a sharing module 712. Thevarious modules of the annotation system 206 are configured tocommunicate with each other (e.g., via a bus, shared memory, or aswitch). Any one or more of these modules may be implemented using oneor more computer processors 720 (e.g., by configuring such one or morecomputer processors to perform functions described for that module) andhence may include one or more of the computer processors 720 (e.g., aset of processors provided by the client device 102).

Any one or more of the modules described may be implemented usinghardware alone (e.g., one or more of the computer processors 720 of amachine (e.g., machine 1700) or a combination of hardware and software.For example, any described module of the annotation system 206 mayphysically include an arrangement of one or more of the computerprocessors 720 (e.g., a subset of or among the one or more computerprocessors of the machine (e.g., machine 1700) configured to perform theoperations described herein for that module. As another example, anymodule of the annotation system 206 may include software, hardware, orboth, that configure an arrangement of one or more computer processors720 (e.g., among the one or more computer processors of the machine(e.g., machine 1700) to perform the operations described herein for thatmodule. Accordingly, different modules of the annotation system 206 mayinclude and configure different arrangements of such computer processors720 or a single arrangement of such computer processors 720 at differentpoints in time. Moreover, any two or more modules of the annotationsystem 206 may be combined into a single module, and the functionsdescribed herein for a single module may be subdivided among multiplemodules. Furthermore, according to various example embodiments, modulesdescribed herein as being implemented within a single machine, database,or device may be distributed across multiple machines, databases, ordevices.

The image and depth data receiving module 702 receives images and depthdata captured by a client device 102. For example, an image is aphotograph captured by an optical sensor (e.g., camera) of the clientdevice 102. An image includes one or more real-world features, such as auser's face or real-world object(s) detected in the image. In someembodiments, an image includes metadata describing the image. Forexample, the depth data includes data corresponding to a depth mapincluding depth information based on light rays emitted from a lightemitting module directed to an object (e.g., a user's face) havingfeatures with different depths (e.g., eyes, ears, nose, lips, etc.). Byway of example, a depth map is similar to an image but instead of eachpixel providing a color, the depth map indicates distance from a camerato that part of the image (e.g., in absolute terms, or relative to otherpixels in the depth map).

The sensor data receiving module 704 receives sensor data from a clientdevice 102. Sensor data is any type of data captured by a sensor of theclient device 102. In an example, sensor data can include motion of theclient device 102 gathered by a gyroscope, touch inputs or gestureinputs from a touch sensor (e.g., touchscreen), GPS, or another sensorof the client device 102 that describes a current geographic locationand/or movement of the client device 102. As another example, sensordata may include temperature data indicating a current temperature asdetected by a sensor of the client device 102. As another example, thesensor data may include light sensor data indicating whether the clientdevice 102 is in a dark or bright environment.

The image and depth data processing module 706 performs operations onthe received image and/or depth data. For example, various imageprocessing and/or depth processing operations are performed by the imageand depth data processing module 706, which are discussed furtherherein.

The AR effects module 708 performs various operations based onalgorithms or techniques that correspond to animations and/or providingvisual and/or auditory effects to the received image and/or depth data,which is described further herein. In an embodiment, a given augmentedreality content generator can utilize the AR effects module 708 toperform operations to render AR effects (e.g., including 2D effects or3D effects using depth data) and the like.

The rendering module 710 performs rendering of the message for displayby the messaging client application 104 based on data provided by atleast one of the aforementioned modules. In an example, the renderingmodule 710 utilizes a graphical processing pipeline to perform graphicaloperations to render the message for display. The rendering module 710implements, in an example, an extensible rendering engine which supportsmultiple image processing operations corresponding to respectiveaugmented reality content generators.

In some implementations, the rendering module 710 provide a graphicssystem that renders two-dimensional (2D) objects or objects from athree-dimensional (3D) world (real or imaginary) onto a 2D displayscreen. Such a graphics system (e.g., one included on the client device102) includes a graphics processing unit (GPU) in some implementationsfor performing image processing operations and rendering graphicalelements for display.

In an implementation, the GPU includes a logical graphical processingpipeline, which can receive a representation of a 2D or 3D scene andprovide an output of a bitmap that represents a 2D image for display.Existing application programming interfaces (APIs) have implementedgraphical pipeline models. Examples of such APIs include the OpenGraphics Library (OPENGL) API and the METAL API. The graphicalprocessing pipeline includes a number of stages to convert a group ofvertices, textures, buffers, and state information into an image frameon the screen. In an implementation, one of the stages of the graphicalprocessing pipeline is a shader, which may be utilized as part of aparticular augmented reality content generator that is applied to aninput frame (e.g., image or video). A shader can be implemented as coderunning on a specialized processing unit, also referred to as a shaderunit or shader processor, usually executing several computing threads,programmed to generate appropriate levels of color and/or specialeffects to fragments being rendered. For example, a vertex shaderprocesses attributes (position, texture coordinates, color, etc.) of avertex, and a pixel shader processes attributes (texture values, color,z-depth and alpha value) of a pixel. In some instances, a pixel shaderis referred to as a fragment shader.

It is to be appreciated that other types of shader processes may beprovided. In an example, a particular sampling rate is utilized, withinthe graphical processing pipeline, for rendering an entire frame, and/orpixel shading is performed at a particular per-pixel rate. In thismanner, a given electronic device (e.g., the client device 102) operatesthe graphical processing pipeline to convert information correspondingto objects into a bitmap that can be displayed by the electronic device.

The sharing module 712 generates the message for storing and/or sendingto the messaging server system 108. The sharing module 712 enablessharing of messages to other users and/or client devices of themessaging server system 108.

The augmented reality content generator module 714 cause display ofselectable graphical items that, in an embodiment, are presented in acarousel arrangement. By way of example, the user can utilize variousinputs to rotate the selectable graphical items onto and off of thedisplay screen in manner corresponding to a carousel providing a cyclicview of the graphical items. The carousel arrangement allows multiplegraphical items to occupy a particular graphical area on the displayscreen. In an example, augmented reality content generators can beorganized into respective groups for including on the carouselarrangement thereby enabling rotating through augmented reality contentgenerators by group.

In a given message, a 3D model of the subject or scene can be capturedusing the embodiments described herein. Such a 3D model can be combinedwith an augmented reality content generator(s) e.g., (LENSES and AReffects) and shared within the subject system, offering additionalelements of interactivity for the viewer.

In embodiments described herein, by using depth and image data, 3D faceand scene reconstruction can be performed that adds a Z-axis dimension(e.g., depth dimension) to a traditional 2D photos (e.g., X-axis andY-axis dimensions). This format enables the viewer to interact with themessage, changing the angle/perspective in which the message is renderedby the subject system, and affecting particles and shaders that areutilized in rendering the message.

In an example, viewer interaction input comes from movement (e.g., froma movement sensor of the device displaying the message to the viewer)whilst viewing the message, which in turn is translated to changes inperspective for how content, particles and shaders are rendered.Interaction can also come from onscreen touch gestures and other devicemotion.

FIG. 8 illustrates example user interfaces depicting a carousel forselecting and applying an augmented reality content generator to mediacontent (e.g., an image or video), and presenting the applied augmentedreality content generator in the messaging client application 104 (orthe messaging system 100), according to some embodiments.

In embodiments of such user interfaces, selectable graphical items 850may be presented in a carousel arrangement in which a portion or subsetof the selectable graphical items 850 are visible on a display screen ofa given computing device (e.g., the client device 102). By way ofexample, the user can utilize various inputs to rotate the selectablegraphical items onto and off of the display screen in mannercorresponding to a carousel providing a cyclic view of the graphicalitems. The carousel arrangement as provided in the user interfacestherefore allow multiple graphical items to occupy a particulargraphical area on the display screen.

In an example, respective AR experiences corresponding to different ARcontent generators can be organized into respective groups for includingon the carousel arrangement thereby enabling rotating through mediaoverlays by group. Although a carousel interface is provided as anexample, it is appreciated that other graphical interfaces may beutilized. For example, a set of augmented reality content generators caninclude graphical list, scroll list, scroll graphic, or anothergraphical interface that enables navigation through various graphicalitems for selection, and the like. As used herein a carousel interfacerefers to display of graphical items in an arrangement similar to acircular list, thereby enabling navigation, based on user inputs (e.g.,touch or gestures), through the circular list to select or scrollthrough the graphical items. In an example, a set of graphical items maybe presented on a horizontal (or vertical) line or axis where eachgraphical item is represented as a particular thumbnail image (or icon,avatar, and the like). At any one time, some of the graphical items inthe carousel interface may be hidden. If the user wants to view thehidden graphical items, in an example, the user may provide a user input(e.g., touch, gesture, and the like) to scroll through the graphicalitems in a particular direction (e.g., left, right, up, or down, and thelike). Afterward, a subsequent view of the carousel interface isdisplayed where an animation is provided or rendered to present one ormore additional graphical items for inclusion on the interface, andwhere some of the previously presented graphical items may be hidden inthis subsequent view. In an embodiment, in this manner the user cannavigate through the set of graphical items back and forth in a circularfashion. Thus, it is appreciated that the carousel interface canoptimize screen space by displaying only a subset of images from a setof graphical items in a cyclic view.

As described herein, augmented reality content generators can includedon the carousel arrangement (or another interface as discussed above)thereby enabling rotating through augmented reality content generators.Further, augmented reality content generators can be selected forinclusion based on various signals including, for example, time, date,geolocation, metadata associated with the media content, and the like.In the carousel arrangement of the user interface examples of FIG. 8,respective augmented reality content generators are selected fromavailable augmented reality content generators provided by the subjectsystem.

In the following discussion, the selectable graphical items correspondto respective augmented reality content generators that are applied tomedia content. As illustrated in user interface 800, selectablegraphical items 850, corresponding to a carousel arrangement, includes aselectable graphical item 851 in the display screen of an electronicdevice (e.g., the client device 102). For example, a swipe gesture isreceived via a touch screen of the client device 102, and in response toreceiving the swipe gesture, navigation through the selectable graphicalitems is enabled to facilitate selection of a particular augmentedreality content generator. The selectable graphical item 851 is selectedvia a touch input (e.g., tap, or through a touch release at the end ofthe gesture) by the user. In this example, the selectable graphical item851 corresponds to a particular augmented reality content generatorincluding AR effects.

In a second example of FIG. 8, upon selection of the selectablegraphical item 851, AR effects 860, AR effects 862, and AR effects 864are rendered for display on the client device 102. In this example, theAR effects 860 are particle-based effects that are rendered spatiallyand are moving in response to sensor information (e.g., gyroscopic data,and the like) on the viewer's electronic device (e.g., the client device102). The AR effects 862 can include color filtering and shader effects,which can also move in response to the sensor information. The AReffects 864 includes a 3D attachment (e.g., headband of roses). Examplesof coloring filtering include a daylight effect that matches a time ofday for a location corresponding to where a message is created (e.g.,based on included location metadata with the message). Examples ofshader effects include, but are not limited to, the following:

-   -   liquid moving around the screen    -   glimmer effects    -   bloom effects    -   iridescent effects    -   changing the background based on movement

In a third example of FIG. 8, the user provides movement of the clientdevice 102 in a display of AR effects 870 and AR effects 872 in the userinterface 800. In this example, the AR effects 870, AR effects 872, andAR effects 874 are different versions, respectively, of the AR effects860, AR effects 862, and AR effects 864 discussed in the second example.The AR effects 870, AR effects 872, and AR effects 874 have beenrendered for display in response to the movement of the client device102 (e.g., motion data from a gyroscopic sensor), and the a view of theaforementioned AR effects is updated (e.g., re-rendered) in response tonewly received movement data which can change the perspective of thescene that is being viewed by the viewer. For example, the particles,color filtering, and/or 3D attachment are changed in response tomovement data.

In an implementation, the aforementioned AR effects and correspondingmetadata are included in a message, which can been provided (e.g.,shared) with another user of the messaging system 100. This other usercan receive the message, and upon being accessed, view the message fordisplay on a receiving client device. The receiving client device, usingsimilar or the same components as described in FIG. 7 above, renders theAR effects for display as specified in the received message. Further,this other user can provide movement to the receiving client device,which in response, initiates a re-rendering of the AR effects in whichthe perspective of the scene that is being viewed by the viewer ischanged based on the provided movement.

FIG. 9 illustrates examples of AR effects illustrating particles, andmultiple frames that are rendered for display on the client device. Itis appreciated that the examples AR effects may be provided for display,as a preview, on a sender's client device in conjunction with generatinga message, or on a receiver's client device (e.g., after receiving themessage created by the sender).

In a first example of FIG. 9, a view 900 of AR effects 910 and AReffects 920 are provided for display on a given client device. Forexample, AR effects 910 provides particles and/or sprites that areanimated on the screen of the client device. As also shown, AR effects920 enlarges a portion of image corresponding to the user's mouth.

In a second example, a view 950 of AR effects 960 and AR effects 970 areprovided for display on a given client device. For example, AR effects960 provides a first frame or shape (e.g., a rectangle) around an imageof the user while also providing an animated color effect around theborder of the frame. As also shown, AR effects 970 provides a secondframe or shape (e.g., a second rectangle) around an second image of theuser (and obscuring a portion of the first frame) while also providingan animated color effect around the border of the frame.

FIG. 10 illustrates examples of AR effects showing respective 3Dtransformations (e.g., rippling or swirling) that is rendered fordisplay on the client device. It is appreciated that the examples AReffects may be provided for display, as a preview, on a sender's clientdevice in conjunction with generating a message, or on a receiver'sclient device (e.g., after receiving the message created by the sender).

In a first example of FIG. 10, a view 1000 of AR effects 1010 isprovided for display on a given client device. For example, AR effects1010 provides a 3D transformation effect that involves an animatedsprite in conjunction with a translucent swirling effect, distorting theuser's face, that are animated on the screen of the client device astime progresses.

In a second example of FIG. 10, a view 1050 of AR effects 1010 isprovided for display on a given client device at a subsequent time. In athird example of FIG. 10, a view 1070 of AR effects 1010 is provided fordisplay at a second subsequent time.

FIG. 11 illustrates examples of AR effects showing respective 3Dtransformations (e.g., rippling or swirling) on an animated 3D objectthat is rendered for display on the client device. It is appreciatedthat the examples AR effects may be provided for display, as a preview,on a sender's client device in conjunction with generating a message, oron a receiver's client device (e.g, after receiving the message createdby the sender).

In a first example of FIG. 11, a view 1100 of AR effects 1010 isprovided for display on a given client device. For example, AR effects1110 provides a 3D transformation effect that involves a swirlingeffect, distorting the user's face, which is rendered on a surface of a3D object, and are animated on the screen of the client device as timeprogresses.

In a second example of FIG. 11, a view 1120 of AR effects 1110 isprovided for display on a given client device at a subsequent time. In athird example of FIG. 11, a view 1130 of AR effects 1110 is provided fordisplay at a second subsequent time. In a fourth example of FIG. 11 aview 1140 of AR effects 1110 is provided for display at a thirdsubsequent time. As can be seen in each of the examples, the 3D objectis shown as various positions as different parts of the animation.

Embodiments of the AR effects described herein that are included in agiven message can include interactive features (e.g., supported by theAR effects module 708 and/or the rendering module 710) based on varioussignals and other factors, which can modify the presentation of a givenmessage when viewed by a receiving device.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 to provide a carouselinterface for selecting a particular augmented reality content generatorwith a 3D effect, according to certain example embodiments. The method1200 may be embodied in computer-readable instructions for execution byone or more computer processors such that the operations of the method1200 may be performed in part or in whole by the messaging clientapplication 104, particularly with respect to respective components ofthe annotation system 206 described above in FIG. 7; accordingly, themethod 1200 is described below by way of example with reference thereto.However, it shall be appreciated that at least some of the operations ofthe method 1200 may be deployed on various other hardware configurationsand the method 1200 is not intended to be limited to the messagingclient application 104.

At operation 1202, the augmented reality content generator module 714selects a set of augmented reality content generators from availableaugmented reality content generators. In an example, the selected set ofaugmented reality content generators includes at least one augmentedreality content generator for applying a three-dimensional (3D) effect.

At operation 1204, the augmented reality content generator module 714causes display of a carousel interface including selectable graphicalitems (e.g., the user interface 800 as discussed before). Eachselectable graphical item of the selectable graphical items correspondsto a respective augmented reality content generator of the set ofaugmented reality content generators.

At operation 1206, the augmented reality content generator module 714receives, at a client device (e.g., the client device 102), a selectionof a first selectable graphical item from the selectable graphicalitems. In an embodiment, the first selectable graphical item is a firstaugmented reality content generator for applying a first 3D effect.

For applying the first 3D effect, the image and depth data receivingmodule 702 can receive image data and depth data captured by an opticalsensor (e.g., camera) of the client device 102. In an example, uponselection of the first augmented reality content generator, the cameraprovided by the client device commences to capture raw depth data alongwith the image data.

At operation 1208, the AR effects module 708 applies the selectedaugmented reality content generator including the 3D effect to the firstimage data and/or first depth data (e.g., the aforementioned captureddepth and image data). In an example, the selected augmented realitycontent generator includes logic to enable processing the image dataand/or depth data based on the 3D effect.

In an embodiment, applying the first augmented reality content generatorto the first image data generates second image data. Rendering thesecond image data therefore can be accomplished by applying the firstaugmented reality content generator to the first image data in anexample. Further, the AR effects module 708 causes a display of therendered second image data in which the rendered second image data caninclude an interactive 3D effect as discussed herein.

At operation 1210, the sharing module 712 generates a message includingthe applied first augmented reality content generator (with the AReffects) to the first image data and the first depth data. As discussedbefore, the message may include the information described in FIG. 6and/or FIG. 4, which enables the message to be reconstructed andrendered by a viewer of the message upon receipt of the message.

In an embodiment, the sharing module 712 stores at or sends thegenerated message to the messaging server system 108. In an example, themessaging client application 104 sends the message to the messagingserver system 108, which enables the message to be stored and/or viewedat a later time by a particular recipient or viewer of the message.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 to rendering a view ofa message, according to certain example embodiments. The method 1300 maybe embodied in computer-readable instructions for execution by one ormore computer processors such that the operations of the method 1300 maybe performed in part or in whole by the messaging client application104, particularly with respect to respective components of theannotation system 206 described above in FIG. 7; accordingly, the method1300 is described below by way of example with reference thereto.However, it shall be appreciated that at least some of the operations ofthe method 1300 may be deployed on various other hardware configurationsand the method 1300 is not intended to be limited to the messagingclient application 104. The method 1300 may be performed in conjunctionwith the method 1200 described above in at least one embodiment.

At operation 1302, the image and depth data receiving module 702receives image data and depth data captured by an optical sensor (e.g.,camera) of the client device 102. In an example, to create a message,the user selects an augmented reality content generator in a carouselinterface as discussed before provided in the messaging clientapplication 104, which causes the camera to capture raw depth data andalong with the camera image.

At operation 1304, the AR effects module 708 selects a 3D effect. In anexample, the 3D effect may be selected based on a user inputcorresponding to a selection of an augmented reality content generatoras provided, for example, in a user interface the carousel interfacedescribed in FIG. 8) of the messaging client application 104.

At operation 1306, the AR effects module 708 applies the selected 3Deffect to the image data and/or the depth data. In an example, theselected 3D effect includes logic to enable processing the image dataand/or depth data.

At operation 1308, the rendering module 710 renders a view of a messageusing the applied 3D effect. In an example, the rendering moduleprovides the view of the message based on the applied 3D effect, whichis displayed by the messaging client application 104. As describedfurther herein, the viewer of the message can provide additional inputs(e.g., movement data and/or touch inputs) which causes the message to beupdated and re-rendered in response to such inputs.

In an embodiment, in a scenario where a given message is received (e.g.,by a sender sharing the message to a receiver), similar operationsdescribed in operation 1302 to operation 1308 may be performed in orderto render a view of the received message.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 of performingconversion passes for processing the image and depth data which may beperformed in conjunction with the method 1200 and/or method 1300 asdescribed above, according to certain example embodiments. The method1400 may be embodied in computer-readable instructions for execution byone or more computer processors such that the operations of the method1400 may be performed in part or in whole by the messaging clientapplication 104, particularly with respect to respective components ofthe annotation system 206 described above in FIG. 7; accordingly, themethod 1400 is described below by way of example with reference thereto.However, it shall be appreciated that at least some of the operations ofthe method 1400 may be deployed on various other hardware configurationsand the method 1400 is not intended to be limited to the messagingclient application 104.

At operation 1402, the image and depth data receiving module 702receives image data and depth data captured by an optical sensor (e.g.,camera) of the client device 102. In an example, the depth data includesa depth map corresponding to the image data. In an embodiment, the imagedata (e.g., a color frame) is resized if a height of the image dataexceeds a particular size (e.g., 2048 pixels) to improve processingutilization (e.g., for the image processing operations described furtherherein) and better ensure compatibility with a wider variety of clientdevices.

In an example embodiment, machine learning techniques and heuristics areutilized to generate depth maps in instances in which a given clientdevice does not include appropriate hardware (e.g., depth sensingcamera) that enables capture depth information. Such machine learningtechniques can train a machine learning model from training data fromshared 3D messages in an example (or other image data). Such heuristicsinclude using face tracking and portrait segmentation to generate adepth map of a person.

In an example embodiment, the aforementioned machine learning techniquescan utilize a neural network model to generate a depth map. For depthestimation, the input to the neural network is an RGB image and theoutput is a depth image. In an example, the neural network generates thedepth map, which is lower resolution than the RGB image. 3D effects thatare rendered using such a depth map can be limited, in an example, bythe lower resolution of the depth map. In particular, fine detail (e.g.,hair) can be challenging to preserve at the lower resolution of thisdepth map. Thus, as discussed further herein, the subject technologyprovides various techniques to address this potential shortcomingrelated to the depth map in order to generate more 3D effects that lookmore natural and less artificial when rendered and presented to aviewing user of the 3D message.

In an example embodiment, multi-view stereo computer vision techniquesare utilized to generate depth maps from a multiple images or a video inwhich the user moves the camera relative to the scene.

In another embodiment, a neural network model can be utilized by theclient device to generate a segmentation mask(s), which is then used toperform inpainting of a background of a given image and a correspondingdepth map, which is discussed further herein.

At operation 1404, the image and depth data processing module 706generates a depth map using at least the depth data. As discussedfurther below, a second depth map, referred to a packed depth map, canbe generated based at least in part on the depth map for additionaltechnical advantages.

At operation 1406, the image and depth data processing module 706generates a segmentation mask based at least in part on the image data.In an embodiment, the image and depth data processing module 706determines the segmentation mask using a convolutional neural network toperform dense prediction tasks where a prediction is made for everypixel to assign the pixel to a particular object class (e.g., faceportrait or background), and the segmentation mask is determined basedon the groupings of the classified pixels (e.g., face portrait orbackground). Alternatively, the segmentation mask may be received asincluded in the raw input data after being generated by the hardware ofclient device 102 (e.g., neural network processor or other machinelearning oriented processor).

At operation 1408, the image and depth data processing module 706performs background inpainting and blurring of the received image datausing at least the segmentation mask to generate background inpaintedimage data. In an example, the image and depth data processing module706 performs a background inpainting technique that eliminates theportrait (e.g., including the user's face) from the background andblurring the background to focus on the person in the frame. In anembodiment, some of the aforementioned processing (e.g., conversionpasses) are utilized for the depth and the color textures, while otherimage processing are utilized for the color texture (e.g. blurring thebackground). In an embodiment, the processing (e.g., conversion passes)are chained for rendering to the target, and the processed depth map andcolor texture are rendered in a manner to be consumed by the effect(s).

At operation 1410, the image and depth data processing module 706generates a depth inpainting mask based at least in part on the depthmap. In an example, the depth map may correspond to the packed depth mapmentioned before. In an example, the image and depth data processingmodule 706 uses the depth inpainting mask in order to clean up artifactsin the depth map. Alternatively, the image and depth data processingmodule 706 can instead utilize the segmentation mask mentioned above forinpainting the depth map (e.g., forego generating the depth inpaintingmask).

At operation 1412, the image and depth data processing module 706performs inpainting of the depth map using the depth inpainting mask togenerate an inpainted depth map. As mentioned before, the inpainteddepth map corresponds to a post-processed depth map in which artifacts,if any, have been removed from the original depth map. In an example,the post-processed depth map includes segmentation applied to an alphachannel (e.g., a channel other than channels that define color valuesfor pixels in an image) of the depth map.

At operation 1414, the image and depth data processing module 706generates a depth normal map based at least in part on the depth map. Inan embodiment, the depth map in this operation can correspond to thepacked depth map mentioned before. In an example, the image and depthdata processing module 706 provides a post-process foreground image byapplying, using the depth normal map, a 3D effect(s) to a foregroundregion of the image data.

At operation 1416, the rendering module 710 generates a view of the 3Dmessage using at least the background inpainted image, the inpainteddepth map, and the post-processed foreground image, which are assetsthat are included the generated 3D message. In an example, the renderingmodule 710 renders a view of the 3D message for display by the messagingclient application 104.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 of updating a view ofa message in response to movement data which may be performed inconjunction with the method 1200 and/or method 1300 and/or method 1400as described above, according to certain example embodiments. The method1500 may be embodied in computer-readable instructions for execution byone or more computer processors such that the operations of the method1500 may be performed in part or in whole by the messaging clientapplication 104, particularly with respect to respective components ofthe annotation system 206 described above in FIG. 7; accordingly, themethod 1500 is described below by way of example with reference thereto.However, it shall be appreciated that at least some of the operations ofthe method 1500 may be deployed on various other hardware configurationsand the method 1500 is not intended to be limited to the messagingclient application 104.

At operation 1502, the sensor data receiving module 704 receivesmovement data from a movement sensor (e.g., gyroscope, motion sensor,touchscreen, etc.). In an embodiment, messaging client application 104receives sensor data captured by a sensor of the client device 102, suchas a location or movement sensor.

At operation 1504, the AR effects module 708 updates a view of a messagebased on the movement data. In an embodiment, in response to movementdata corresponding to a change in roll/yaw/pitch orientation of theclient device, the message has a corresponding change in how it isrendered by the AR effects module 708 (e.g., input of −10 degree rollwill shift the perspective of the content +10 degree roll). In anembodiment, in response to not receiving movement data (e.g.,roll/yaw/pitch) for a particular period of time 3 seconds), the AReffects module 708 updates the view of the message by showing ananimation with a subtle shift to pitch, roll and yaw to demonstratedepth and parallax. Additionally, in response to movement, theaforementioned animation will stop and the response to input isprocessed by the AR effects module 708.

In an embodiment, as described before, additional AR effects and/oraugmented reality content generators can be applied to the image and/ordepth data which changes the property of both the image texture, thegeometry of the depth map as well as the depth dimension in front of thereconstructed model.

At operation 1506, the rendering module 710 renders the updated view ofthe message.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example software architecture1606, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 16 is a non-limiting example of asoftware architecture and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 1606 may execute on hardwaresuch as machine 1700 of FIG. 17 that includes, among other things,processors 1704, memory 1714, and (input/output) I/O components 1718. Arepresentative hardware layer 1652 is illustrated and can represent, forexample, the machine 1700 of FIG. 17. The representative hardware layer1652 includes a processing unit 1654 having associated executableinstructions 1604. Executable instructions 1604 represent the executableinstructions of the software architecture 1606, including implementationof the methods, components, and so forth described herein. The hardwarelayer 1652 also includes memory and/or storage modules memory/storage1656, which also have executable instructions 1604. The hardware layer1652 may also comprise other hardware 1658.

In the example architecture of FIG. 16, the software architecture 1606may be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 1606may include layers such as an operating system 1602, libraries 1620,frameworks/middleware 1618, applications 1616, and a presentation layer1614. Operationally, the applications 1616 and/or other componentswithin the layers may invoke API calls 1608 through the software stackand receive a response as in messages 1612 to the API calls 1608. Thelayers illustrated are representative in nature and not all softwarearchitectures have all layers. For example, some mobile or specialpurpose operating systems may not provide a frameworks/middleware 1618,while others may provide such a layer. Other software architectures mayinclude additional or different layers.

The operating system 1602 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 1602 may include, for example, akernel 1622, services 1624, and drivers 1626. The kernel 1622 may act asan abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 1622 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 1624 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1626are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 1626 include display drivers, cameradrivers. Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communicationdrivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers,audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 1620 provide a common infrastructure that is used by theapplications 1616 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries1620 provide functionality that allows other software components toperform tasks in an easier fashion than to interface directly with theunderlying operating system 1602 functionality (e.g., kernel 1622,services 1624 and/or drivers 1626). The libraries 1620 may includesystem libraries 1644 (e.g., C standard library) that may providefunctions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulationfunctions, mathematical functions, and the like. In addition, thelibraries 1620 may include API libraries 1646 such as media libraries(e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of variousmedia format such as MPREG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphicslibraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework that may be used to render 2D and3D in a graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLitethat may provide various relational database functions), web libraries(e.g., WebKit that may provide web browsing functionality), and thelike. The libraries 1620 may also include a wide variety of otherlibraries 1648 to provide many other APIs to the applications 1616 andother software components/modules.

The frameworks/middleware 1618 (also sometimes referred to asmiddleware) provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may beused by the applications 1616 and/or other software components/modules.For example, the frameworks/middleware 1618 may provide various graphicuser interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management,high-level location services, and so forth. The frameworks/middleware1618 may provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that may be used by theapplications 1616 and/or other software components/modules, some ofwhich may be specific to a particular operating system 1602 or platform.

The applications 1616 include built-in applications 1638 and/orthird-party applications 1640. Examples of representative built-inapplications 1638 may include, but are not limited to, a contactsapplication, a browser application, a book reader application, alocation application, a media application, a messaging application,and/or a game application. Third-party applications 1640 may include anapplication developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software developmentkit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform,and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such asIOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. Thethird-party applications 1640 may invoke the API calls 1608 provided bythe mobile operating system (such as operating system 1602) tofacilitate functionality described herein.

The applications 1616 may use built in operating system functions (e.g.,kernel 1622, services 1624 and/or drivers 1626), libraries 1620, andframeworks/middleware 1618 to create user interfaces to interact withusers of the system. Alternatively, or additionally, in some systemsinteractions with a user may occur through a presentation layer, such aspresentation layer 1614. In these systems, the application/component‘logic’ can be separated from the aspects of the application/componentthat interact with a user.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1700,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 17 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1700 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1710 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an apples, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 1700 to perform any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. As such,the instructions 1710 may be used to implement modules or componentsdescribed herein. The instructions 1710 transform the general,non-programmed machine 1700 into a particular machine 1700 programmed tocarry out the described and illustrated functions in the mannerdescribed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 1700 operates as astandalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines.In a networked deployment, the machine 1700 may operate in the capacityof a server machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine 1700 may comprise, but not be limitedto, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a networkswitch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing theinstructions 1710, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to betaken by machine 1700. Further, while only a single machine 1700 isillustrated, the term ‘machine’ shall also be taken to include acollection of machines that individually or jointly execute theinstructions 1710 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The machine 1700 may include processors 1704, including processor 1708to processor 1712, memory/storage 1706, and I/O components 1718, whichmay be configured to communicate with each other such as via a bus 1702.The memory/storage 1706 may include a memory 1714, such as a mainmemory, or other memory storage, and a storage unit 1716, bothaccessible to the processors 1704 such as via the bus 1702. The storageunit 1716 and memory 1714 store the instructions 1710 embodying any oneor more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 1710 may also reside, completely or partially, within thememory 1714, within the storage unit 1716, within at least one of theprocessors 1704 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or anysuitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine1700. Accordingly, the memory 1714, the storage unit 1716, and thememory of processors 1704 are examples of machine-readable media.

The I/O components 1718 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1718 that are included in a particular machine 1700 willdepend on the type of machine. For example, portable machines such asmobile phones will likely include a touch input device or other suchinput mechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely notinclude such a touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/Ocomponents 1718 may include many other components that are not shown inFIG. 17. The I/O components 1718 are grouped according to functionalitymerely for simplifying the following discussion and the grouping is inno way limiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components 1718may include output components 1726 and input components 1728. The outputcomponents 1726 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 1728 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1718 may includebiometric components 1730, motion components 1734, environmentalcomponents 1736, or position components 1738 among a wide array of othercomponents. For example, the biometric components 1730 may includecomponents to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facialexpressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measurebiosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1734 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environmental components 1736 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometer that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment. The position components 1738 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a GPS receiver component),altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detectair pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensorcomponents (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1718 may include communication components 1740operable to couple the machine 1700 to a network 1732 or devices 1720via coupling 1724 and coupling 1722, respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1740 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with the network 1732. In furtherexamples, communication components 1740 may include wired communicationcomponents, wireless communication components, cellular communicationcomponents, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and othercommunication components to provide communication via other modalities.The devices 1720 may be another machine or any of a wide variety ofperipheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a USB).

Moreover, the communication components 1740 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1740 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1740, such as, location via Internet Protocol UP) geo-location, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

The following discussion relates to various terms or phrases that arementioned throughout the subject disclosure.

‘Signal Medium’ refers to any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying the instructions for execution by amachine and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible media to facilitate communication of software or data. Theterm ‘signal medium’ shall be taken to include any form of a modulateddata signal, carrier wave, and so forth. The term ‘modulated datasignal’ means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics setor changed in such a matter as to encode information in the signal. Theterms ‘transmission medium’ and ‘signal medium’ mean the same thing andmay be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

‘Communication Network’ refers to one or more portions of a network thatmay be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a widearea network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS)network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi®network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more suchnetworks. For example, a network or a portion of a network may include awireless or cellular network and the coupling may be a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM) connection, or other types of cellular or wirelesscoupling. In this example, the coupling may implement any of a varietyof types of data transfer technology, such as Single Carrier RadioTransmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO)technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, EnhancedData rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G)networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High SpeedPacket Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, others defined by variousstandard-setting organizations, other long-range protocols, or otherdata transfer technology.

‘Processor’ refers to any circuit or virtual circuit (a physical circuitemulated by logic executing on an actual processor) that manipulatesdata values according to control signals (e.g., ‘commands’, ‘op codes’,‘machine code’, etc.) and which produces corresponding output signalsthat are applied to operate a machine. A processor may, for example, bea Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing(RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor,a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-FrequencyIntegrated Circuit (RFIC) or any combination thereof. A processor mayfurther be a multi-core processor having two or more independentprocessors (sometimes referred to as ‘cores’) that may executeinstructions contemporaneously.

‘Machine-Storage Medium’ refers to a single or multiple storage devicesand/or media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) that store executable instructions,routines and/or data. The term shall accordingly be taken to include,but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magneticmedia, including memory internal or external to processors. Specificexamples of machine-storage media, computer-storage media and/ordevice-storage media include non-volatile memory, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, e.g., erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), FPGA, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks The terms ‘machine-storage medium,’‘device-storage medium,’ ‘computer-storage medium’ mean the same thingand may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. The terms‘machine-storage media,’ ‘computer-storage media,’ and ‘device-storagemedia’ specifically exclude carrier waves, modulated data signals, andother such media, at least some of which are covered under the term‘signal medium.’

‘Component’ refers to a device, physical entity, or logic havingboundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branch points, APIs,or other technologies that provide for the partitioning ormodularization of particular processing or control functions. Componentsmay be combined via their interfaces with other components to carry outa machine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardwareunit designed for use with other components and a part of a program thatusually performs a particular function of related functions. Componentsmay constitute either software components (e.g., code embodied on amachine-readable medium) or hardware components. A ‘hardware component’is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computersystem, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one ormore hardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or agroup of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an applicationor application portion) as a hardware component that operates to performcertain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also beimplemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combinationthereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicatedcircuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certainoperations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor,such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software), may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations. Accordingly, the phrase ‘hardware component’(or‘hardware-implemented component’) should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering embodiments in which hardwarecomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises ageneral-purpose processor configured by software to become aspecial-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware components) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instanceof time and to constitute a different hardware component at a differentinstance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, andreceive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware components may be regarded as being communicativelycoupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously,communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., overappropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of thehardware components. In embodiments in which multiple hardwarecomponents are configured or instantiated at different times,communications between such hardware components may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware components have access. Forexample, one hardware component may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at alater time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware components may also initiate communications with inputor output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, ‘processor-implemented component’refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components. Moreover, the one or more processorsmay also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a‘cloud computing’ environment or as a ‘software as a service’ (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an API). The performance ofcertain of the operations may be distributed among the processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented components may be located in a single geographiclocation (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or aserver farm). In other example embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented components may be distributed across a number ofgeographic locations.

‘Carrier Signal’ refers to any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by themachine, and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible media to facilitate communication of such instructions.Instructions may be transmitted or received over a network using atransmission medium via a network interface device.

‘Computer-Readable Medium’ refers to both machine-storage media andtransmission media. Thus, the terms include both storage devices/mediaand carrier waves/modulated data signals. The terms ‘machine-readablemedium,’ ‘computer-readable medium’ and ‘device-readable medium’ meanthe same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

‘Client Device’ refers to any machine that interfaces to acommunications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistants (PDAs), smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks, netbooks, laptops,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any other communicationdevice that a user may use to access a network. In the subjectdisclosure, a client device is also referred to as an ‘electronicdevice.’

‘Ephemeral Message’ refers to a message that is accessible for atime-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be a text, an image, avideo and the like. The access time for the ephemeral message may be setby the message sender. Alternatively, the access time may be a defaultsetting or a setting specified by the recipient. Regardless of thesetting technique, the message is transitory.

‘Signal Medium’ refers to any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying the instructions for execution by amachine and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible media to facilitate communication of software or data. Theterm ‘signal medium’ shall be taken to include any form of a modulateddata signal, carrier wave, and so forth. The term ‘modulated datasignal’ means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics setor changed in such a matter as to encode information in the signal. Theterms ‘transmission medium’ and ‘signal medium’ mean the same thing andmay be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

‘Communication Network’ refers to one or more portions of a network thatmay be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a widearea network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS)network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi®network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more suchnetworks. For example, a network or a portion of a network may include awireless or cellular network and the coupling may be a Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM) connection, or other types of cellular or wirelesscoupling. In this example, the coupling may implement any of a varietyof types of data transfer technology, such as Single Carrier RadioTransmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO)technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, EnhancedData rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G)networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High SpeedPacket Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, others defined by variousstandard-setting organizations, other long-range protocols, or otherdata transfer technology.

‘Processor’ refers to any circuit or virtual circuit (a physical circuitemulated by logic executing on an actual processor) that manipulatesdata values according to control signals (e.g., ‘commands’, ‘op codes’,‘machine code’, etc.) and which produces corresponding output signalsthat are applied to operate a machine. A processor may, for example, bea Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing(RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor,a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), anApplication Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-FrequencyIntegrated Circuit (RFIC) or any combination thereof. A processor mayfurther be a multi-core processor having two or more independentprocessors (sometimes referred to as ‘cores’) that may executeinstructions contemporaneously.

‘Machine-Storage Medium’ refers to a single or multiple storage devicesand/or media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) that store executable instructions,routines and/or data. The term shall accordingly be taken to include,but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magneticmedia, including memory internal or external to processors. Specificexamples of machine-storage media, computer-storage media and/ordevice-storage media include non-volatile memory, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, e.g., erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), FPGA, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks The terms ‘machine-storage medium,’‘device-storage medium,’ ‘computer-storage medium’ mean the same thingand may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. The terms‘machine-storage media,’ ‘computer-storage media,’ and ‘device-storagemedia’ specifically exclude carrier waves, modulated data signals, andother such media, at least some of which are covered under the term‘signal medium.’

‘Component’ refers to a device, physical entity, or logic havingboundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branch points, APIs,or other technologies that provide for the partitioning ormodularization of particular processing or control functions. Componentsmay be combined via their interfaces with other components to carry outa machine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardwareunit designed for use with other components and a part of a program thatusually performs a particular function of related functions. Componentsmay constitute either software components (e.g., code embodied on amachine-readable medium) or hardware components. A ‘hardware component’is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computersystem, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one ormore hardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or agroup of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an applicationor application portion) as a hardware component that operates to performcertain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also beimplemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combinationthereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicatedcircuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certainoperations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor,such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software), may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations. Accordingly, the phrase ‘hardware component’(or‘hardware-implemented component’) should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering embodiments in which hardwarecomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises ageneral-purpose processor configured by software to become aspecial-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware components) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instanceof time and to constitute a different hardware component at a differentinstance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, andreceive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware components may be regarded as being communicativelycoupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously,communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., overappropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of thehardware components. In embodiments in which multiple hardwarecomponents are configured or instantiated at different times,communications between such hardware components may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware components have access. Forexample, one hardware component may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at alater time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware components may also initiate communications with inputor output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, ‘processor-implemented component’refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components. Moreover, the one or more processorsmay also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a‘cloud computing’ environment or as a ‘software as a service’ (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an API). The performance ofcertain of the operations may be distributed among the processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented components may be located in a single geographiclocation (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or aserver farm). In other example embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented components may be distributed across a number ofgeographic locations.

‘Carrier Signal’ refers to any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by themachine, and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible media to facilitate communication of such instructions.Instructions may be transmitted or received over a network using atransmission medium via a network interface device.

‘Computer-Readable Medium’ refers to both machine-storage media andtransmission media. Thus, the terms include both storage devices/mediaand carrier waves/modulated data signals. The terms ‘machine-readablemedium,’ ‘computer-readable medium’ and ‘device-readable medium’ meanthe same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

‘Client Device’ refers to any machine that interfaces to acommunications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistants (PDAs), smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks, netbooks, laptops,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any other communicationdevice that a user may use to access a network.

‘Ephemeral Message’ refers to a message that is accessible for atime-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be a text, an image, avideo and the like. The access time for the ephemeral message may be setby the message sender. Alternatively, the access time may be a defaultsetting or a setting specified by the recipient. Regardless of thesetting technique, the message is transitory.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: selecting a set ofaugmented reality content generators from a plurality of availableaugmented reality content generators, the selected set of augmentedreality content generators comprising at least one augmented realitycontent generator for applying a three-dimensional (3D) effect; causingdisplay of a carousel interface comprising a plurality of selectablegraphical items, each selectable graphical item corresponding to arespective augmented reality content generator of the set of augmentedreality content generators; receiving, at a client device, a selectionof a first selectable graphical item from the plurality of selectablegraphical items, the first selectable graphical item comprising a firstaugmented reality content generator for applying a first 3D effect;generating a segmentation mask based on first image data; applying thesegmentation mask on first depth data to reduce a set of artifacts in adepth map based on the first depth data; generating a packed depth mapbased at least in part on the depth map, the generating the packed depthmap comprising: converting a single channel floating point texture to araw depth map, and generating multiple channels based at least in parton the raw depth map; applying, to the first image data and the firstdepth data, the first augmented reality content generator correspondingto the selected first selectable graphical item, the first image dataand the first depth data being captured with a camera; and generating amessage including the applied first augmented reality content generatorto the first image data and the first depth data.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising: receiving a swipe gesture via a touch screen ofthe client device; and in response to receiving the swipe gesture,causing navigation through the plurality of selectable graphical items.3. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the first augmented realitycontent generator to the first image data generates second image data.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: rendering second imagedata by applying the first augmented reality content generator to thefirst image data; and causing display of the rendered second image data,the rendered second image data comprising an interactive 3D effect. 5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing a backgroundin-painting technique to eliminate a portrait from a background of thefirst image data.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating themessage further includes information related to a depth map and aportrait segmentation mask.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstimage data and the first depth data are captured by an optical sensor ofa client device.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D effectcomprises an image processing operation on the image data or the depthdata.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: rendering a view ofthe first image data and the first depth data based on the applied first3D effect; receiving movement data from a movement sensor; updating aview of the first image data and the first depth data based at least inpart on the movement data; and rendering the updated view the firstimage data and the first depth data.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe updated view and the view are different views of the applied first3D effect.
 11. A system comprising: a processor; and a memory includinginstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processorto perform operations comprising: selecting a set of augmented realitycontent generators from a plurality of available augmented realitycontent generators, the selected set of augmented reality contentgenerators comprising at least one augmented reality content generatorfor applying a three-dimensional (3D) effect; causing display of acarousel interface comprising a plurality of selectable graphical items,each selectable graphical item corresponding to a respective augmentedreality content generator of the set of augmented reality contentgenerators; receiving, at a client device, a selection of a firstselectable graphical item from the plurality of selectable graphicalitems, the first selectable graphical item comprising a first augmentedreality content generator for applying a first 3D effect; generating asegmentation mask based on first image data; applying the segmentationmask on first depth data to reduce a set of artifacts in a depth mapbased on the first depth data; generating a packed depth map based atleast in part on the depth map, the generating the packed depth mapcomprising: converting a single channel floating point texture to a rawdepth map, and generating multiple channels based at least in part onthe raw depth map; applying, to the first image data and the first depthdata, the first augmented reality content generator corresponding to theselected first selectable graphical item, the first image data and thefirst depth data being captured with a camera; and generating a messageincluding the applied first augmented reality content generator to thefirst image data and the first depth data.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the memory includes further instructions, which further causethe processor to perform further operations comprising: receiving aswipe gesture via a touch screen of the client device; and in responseto receiving the swipe gesture, causing navigation through the pluralityof selectable graphical items.
 13. The system of claim 11, whereinapplying the first augmented reality content generator to the firstimage data generates second image data.
 14. The system of claim 11,wherein the memory includes further instructions, which further causethe processor to perform further operations comprising: rendering secondimage data by applying the first augmented reality content generator tothe first image data; and causing display of the rendered second imagedata, the rendered second image data comprising an interactive 3Deffect.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the memory includes furtherinstructions, which further cause the processor to perform furtheroperations comprising: performing a background in-painting technique toeliminate a portrait from a background of the first image data.
 16. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein generating the message further includesinformation related to a depth map and a portrait segmentation mask. 17.The system of claim 11, wherein the first image data and the first depthdata are captured by an optical sensor of a client device.
 18. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the 3D effect comprises an image processingoperation on the image data or the depth data.
 19. The system of claim11, wherein the memory includes further instructions, which furthercause the processor to perform further operations comprising: renderinga view of the first image data and the first depth data based on theapplied first 3D effect; receiving movement data from a movement sensor;updating a view of the first image data and the first depth data basedat least in part on the movement data; and rendering the updated viewthe first image data and the first depth data.
 20. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed bya computing device, cause the computing device to perform operationscomprising: selecting a set of augmented reality content generators froma plurality of available augmented reality content generators, theselected set of augmented reality content generators comprising at leastone augmented reality content generator for applying a three-dimensional(3D) effect; causing display of a carousel interface comprising aplurality of selectable graphical items, each selectable graphical itemcorresponding to a respective augmented reality content generator of theset of augmented reality content generators; receiving, at a clientdevice, a selection of a first selectable graphical item from theplurality of selectable graphical items, the first selectable graphicalitem comprising a first augmented reality content generator for applyinga first 3D effect; generating a segmentation mask based on first imagedata; applying the segmentation mask on first depth data to reduce a setof artifacts in a depth map based on the first depth data; generating apacked depth map based at least in part on the depth map, the generatingthe packed depth map comprising: converting a single channel floatingpoint texture to a raw depth map, and generating multiple channels basedat least in part on the raw depth map; applying, to the first image dataand the first depth data, the first augmented reality content generatorcorresponding to the selected first selectable graphical item, the firstimage data and the first depth data being captured with a camera; andgenerating a message including the applied first augmented realitycontent generator to the first image data and the first depth data.